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Author Topic: German Elections & Politics  (Read 655368 times)
minionofmidas
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« Reply #175 on: December 18, 2013, 01:48:52 PM »

They should of course have been wearing sneakers and jeans.

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Velasco
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« Reply #176 on: December 18, 2013, 01:54:35 PM »

How classy! I'm truly impressed Cheesy
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Franzl
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« Reply #177 on: December 20, 2013, 03:10:47 AM »

Slight bounce for the SPD in the first Infratest dimap poll since the new government took over.

CDU/CSU: 42%
SPD: 27%
Grüne: 9%
Linke: 8%

AfD: 4%
FDP: 4%
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Peter the Lefty
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« Reply #178 on: December 20, 2013, 05:35:55 PM »

Slight bounce for the SPD in the first Infratest dimap poll since the new government took over.

CDU/CSU: 42%
SPD: 27%
Grüne: 9%
Linke: 8%

AfD: 4%
FDP: 4%
They should enjoy it while they can.  Hopefully, they'll drop to all-time lows very soon.  The SPD is dead for all true intents and purposes.
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« Reply #179 on: December 21, 2013, 12:28:44 PM »

Slight bounce for the SPD in the first Infratest dimap poll since the new government took over.

CDU/CSU: 42%
SPD: 27%
Grüne: 9%
Linke: 8%

AfD: 4%
FDP: 4%

Not suprising, considering that the end result of the coalition talks was apparently classified as a victory for the SPD and a personal triumph for Sigmar Gabriel (who has finally overcome his image as a leightweight - pun intended Tongue ) by most media commentators.
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Oak Hills
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« Reply #180 on: December 22, 2013, 01:00:04 PM »

Slight bounce for the SPD in the first Infratest dimap poll since the new government took over.

CDU/CSU: 42%
SPD: 27%
Grüne: 9%
Linke: 8%

AfD: 4%
FDP: 4%
They should enjoy it while they can.  Hopefully, they'll drop to all-time lows very soon.  The SPD is dead for all true intents and purposes.

Why are people here so negative on the SPD?
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Franzl
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« Reply #181 on: December 22, 2013, 01:57:27 PM »

Slight bounce for the SPD in the first Infratest dimap poll since the new government took over.

CDU/CSU: 42%
SPD: 27%
Grüne: 9%
Linke: 8%

AfD: 4%
FDP: 4%
They should enjoy it while they can.  Hopefully, they'll drop to all-time lows very soon.  The SPD is dead for all true intents and purposes.

Why are people here so negative on the SPD?

Well, from a left-wing perspective, they've done some relatively awful things.
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Vosem
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« Reply #182 on: December 22, 2013, 02:56:45 PM »

Slight bounce for the SPD in the first Infratest dimap poll since the new government took over.

CDU/CSU: 42%
SPD: 27%
Grüne: 9%
Linke: 8%

AfD: 4%
FDP: 4%
They should enjoy it while they can.  Hopefully, they'll drop to all-time lows very soon.  The SPD is dead for all true intents and purposes.

Why are people here so negative on the SPD?

They're to the right of most European mainstream-left parties (emphasis on the word 'European', of course), and there's a perception (that reminds me of similarly absurd ideas about the GOP, actually) that they're going to die out and be overtaken by the Greens.
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politicus
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« Reply #183 on: December 22, 2013, 03:30:59 PM »

Slight bounce for the SPD in the first Infratest dimap poll since the new government took over.

CDU/CSU: 42%
SPD: 27%
Grüne: 9%
Linke: 8%

AfD: 4%
FDP: 4%
They should enjoy it while they can.  Hopefully, they'll drop to all-time lows very soon.  The SPD is dead for all true intents and purposes.

Why are people here so negative on the SPD?

They're to the right of most European mainstream-left parties (emphasis on the word 'European', of course), and there's a perception (that reminds me of similarly absurd ideas about the GOP, actually) that they're going to die out and be overtaken by the Greens.

The Greens are too middle class (among other things) to replace SPD as [i the[/i] major centre-left party. But SPD might very well be weakened to a degree where the German party system lose its character of being a "two party system plus change" and becomes a "one party plus token opposition"-system with CDU as an even more dominant "natural party of government". Sort of a German version of the LDP in Japan.
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change08
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« Reply #184 on: December 22, 2013, 03:32:39 PM »

Slight bounce for the SPD in the first Infratest dimap poll since the new government took over.

CDU/CSU: 42%
SPD: 27%
Grüne: 9%
Linke: 8%

AfD: 4%
FDP: 4%
They should enjoy it while they can.  Hopefully, they'll drop to all-time lows very soon.  The SPD is dead for all true intents and purposes.

Why are people here so negative on the SPD?

They're to the right of most European mainstream-left parties (emphasis on the word 'European', of course), and there's a perception (that reminds me of similarly absurd ideas about the GOP, actually) that they're going to die out and be overtaken by the Greens.

The SPD are truly in a crap position, but this always gets said about the mainstream left in Europe. See: 1980s/early 90s UK Labour, the PS throughout its existence.

Merkel's popular and the SPD isn't. Simple as that really. When they can reverse that, they'll be able to lead a government again.
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Filuwaúrdjan
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« Reply #185 on: December 22, 2013, 07:29:35 PM »

Why are people here so negative on the SPD?

At a guess the issue is that while all traditional socialist parties have a marked tendency towards the bureaucratic, the SPD has even more of a 'men in grey suits' feel to it than most. Particularly when it lacks a halfway charismatic leadership, which is the case currently.
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Filuwaúrdjan
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« Reply #186 on: December 22, 2013, 07:34:24 PM »

They're to the right of most European mainstream-left parties

I don't think that's actually true. What they are is (currently) duller and (always) more overtly in favour of order and stability than most of their actual and also official sister parties.
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politicus
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« Reply #187 on: December 22, 2013, 08:05:06 PM »
« Edited: December 22, 2013, 10:44:55 PM by politicus »

They're to the right of most European mainstream-left parties

I don't think that's actually true.

Well, its hard to measure those things, but what major European mainstream-left (=main centre-left) parties do you consider to be a) to the right of the SPD b) equally right winged?

I would consider SPD to be clearly to the right of PS, PSOE and all the Scandinavian SDs and slightly to the right of Labour.

Irish Labour is to their right, but who else?
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« Reply #188 on: December 23, 2013, 05:24:58 AM »
« Edited: December 23, 2013, 05:33:22 AM by And Nicolas Cage as "Fu Manchu"! »

I think a lot of people are categorizing the SPD as being more "right-wing" because of Gerhard Schröder's Agenda 2010 (which happened ten years ago) and because it seems to favour coalitions with CDU/CSU over coalitions with the Left Party (which primarily has something to do with being afraid of doing something risky/unconventional/unpopular and the potential fallout from it).

Most German voters generally seem to long for a stable and consensus-oriented government. Opinion polls also show that Angela Merkel is overwhelmingly popular and that a Grand coalition is preferred over pretty much any other potential coalition (especially a Red-Red-Green one). Hell, even many SPD voters prefer Angela Merkel over Peer Steinbrück or Sigmar Gabriel as Chancellor. Entering a Grand coalition is always the safe choice and the current SPD leadership likes to play it safe. It doesn't necessarily mean that they "like" the CDU more than they like the Left Party.
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minionofmidas
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« Reply #189 on: December 23, 2013, 07:27:48 AM »

They're to the right of most European mainstream-left parties

I don't think that's actually true.

Well, its hard to measure those things, but what major European mainstream-left (=main centre-left) parties do you consider to be a) to the right of the SPD b) equally right winged?

I would consider SPD to be clearly to the right of PS, PSOE and all the Scandinavian SDs and slightly to the right of Labour.

Irish Labour is to their right, but who else?
PASOK! Cheesy
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freefair
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« Reply #190 on: December 23, 2013, 07:47:34 AM »
« Edited: December 23, 2013, 09:50:25 AM by freefair »

Dutch Labour. They're basically left-liberals and they just love coalitions with VVD, D66 and CDA.
Also, I perceive the Nordic SDs as being far to the economic right of UK Labour in historical policy terms, if more socialistic in theory.
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Cassius
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« Reply #191 on: December 23, 2013, 07:58:12 AM »

Haven't PASOK basically given up the pretence of being a serious contender (unlike the SPD) and now just exist because they exist.
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Filuwaúrdjan
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« Reply #192 on: December 23, 2013, 11:31:16 AM »

Well, its hard to measure those things, but what major European mainstream-left (=main centre-left) parties do you consider to be a) to the right of the SPD b) equally right winged?

I would consider SPD to be clearly to the right of PS, PSOE and all the Scandinavian SDs and slightly to the right of Labour.

Irish Labour is to their right, but who else?

Irish 'Labour' have eliminated their right to be considered as part of the question, at least for the moment. Actually they may well soon join the exalted ranks of ironically named political parties.

Anyway, the PS is excellent when it comes to fiery rhetoric, but this rhetoric tends not to match up to reality. The Flanby government's idea of a radical economic programme is a handful of populist policies (that don't seem to have been particularly popular) and literally nothing else. French politics does tend to exist in its own bizarre universe, of course, and it is one in which up can indeed sometimes be down, but I dispute the idea that the PS is a notably left-wing party of the Left even if it likes to pretend to be one. The PSOE is really only radical on issues relating directly to the legacy of the Civil War and to culture war clashes with the PP; they're well to the right of the SPD in practice.

British Labour is weird in that it has always included a much wider range of opinions than the norm; basically I'd argue that the way things currently appear is really more a case of observing that the Left of the SPD is kind of semi-marginalised at present, whereas in Britain most Left factions back the current leadership. Things have been different in the past and presumably will be in the future.
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Tender Branson
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« Reply #193 on: December 24, 2013, 02:39:38 AM »

The date for the Sachsen (Saxony) state election has been set by the state government:

August 31, 2014

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http://www.mdr.de/nachrichten/wahltermin102_zc-e9a9d57e_zs-6c4417e7.html
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Yeahsayyeah
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« Reply #194 on: December 26, 2013, 03:08:33 PM »

The CDU/FDP-administration in Saxony is obviously hoping für "asymmetric demobilization" in putting the election date into the school and university summer vacations. They have gerrymandered the electoral districts in their favor, too (This matters in Saxony, because not all overhang seats are compensated). Third, they still use D'Hondt (Jefferson's method) for seat allocation. So the CDU will have a structural advantage of a few seats.
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politicus
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« Reply #195 on: December 26, 2013, 04:29:40 PM »
« Edited: December 26, 2013, 05:53:40 PM by politicus »

Dutch Labour. They're basically left-liberals and they just love coalitions with VVD, D66 and CDA.
Also, I perceive the Nordic SDs as being far to the economic right of UK Labour in historical policy terms, if more socialistic in theory.

Not talking about history here. But if we where: Nordic SDs have hardly been more Socialist in theory than British Labour were pre-New Labour.

Yeah, Dutch Labour is at least as right wing as SPD.

Still I cant see that the claim that SPD is to the right of most European main centre-left parties isn't true.


Basically I'd argue that the way things currently appear is really more a case of observing that the Left of the SPD is kind of semi-marginalised at present, whereas in Britain most Left factions back the current leadership. Things have been different in the past and presumably will be in the future.

That's a good point, but I think semi-marginalization is putting it mildly...

It is difficult to place parties in different countries on a left-right scale using objective criteria, so I wont pursue this any further. Plus it could easily derail the thread.

Still, if anybody would like to answer my original question: What major European mainstream-left (=main centre-left) parties do you consider to be a) to the right of the SPD b) equally right winged? in a more systematic manner in a different thread (or a PM), that would be interesting.
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palandio
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« Reply #196 on: December 26, 2013, 06:08:51 PM »

... They have gerrymandered the electoral districts in their favor, too...
Is this true for Saxony? I took at look at Leipzig and Chemnitz and what I saw was the following:
* Two electoral districts in the whole of Saxony were won by the Left party, one in Western Leipzig, one in Southern Chemnitz. Both are composed mainly by Plattenbau housing estates, in both the size of the voting population is below average due to population losses in the last 23 years. In both the CDU got the most proportional votes. All in all this is hardly an example for packing.
* I don't see examples of cracking. Western Leipzig and Southern Chemnitz are as dark-red as you can get in Saxony and even they are toss-ups. And SPD and Greens are just too week to play a role other than taking away FPTP votes from CDU and Left Party.
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Filuwaúrdjan
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« Reply #197 on: December 27, 2013, 02:34:16 PM »

Not talking about history here. But if we where: Nordic SDs have hardly been more Socialist in theory than British Labour were pre-New Labour.

Of course if we're talking about in theory, then British Labour was never an official Marxist party (unlike most of its continental cousins).

Though it abandoned Utopia much later than basically everyone else (the SPD being basically first on that score). Have the SPÖ actually done that yet, anyone?

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Well, they're less marginalised than the Labour Left was in the mid 1950s Grin
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Tender Branson
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« Reply #198 on: December 28, 2013, 09:27:10 AM »

The Grand Coalition is now talking about extending the legislative term from 4 years to 5 years:

http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/union-und-spd-offen-fuer-verlaengerung-der-wahlperiode-a-941057.html

The same was done here in 2007.
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Franknburger
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« Reply #199 on: December 28, 2013, 11:32:11 AM »

The honeymoon seems to be over:

In an unusual coalition, Greens and the ADAC (German motorist association, more than 18 million members) have simultaneously criticised the envisaged introduction of a motorway toll (rumoured to range around 100€/year): "Bureaucratic nightmare that is only creating jobs for public officials but hardly yields additional funds for road infrastructure"; "Flat-rate for long-distance drivers, encouraging fuel wastage". A (temporary) rise in fuel taxes would, at substantially lower administrative cost, be more socially just, environment-friendly, and also have foreign users participating in the cost of the German motorway system.

The CSU was quick to reply that they stick to the plan, noting that introducing a road toll by 2016 at latest has been put down firmly in the coalition agreement. SPD: "Yes, but under the condition that the toll corresponds to EU regulation, and no domestic car owner is paying more than he has to do now.." That will be difficult to achieve, since vehicle tax on small cars is well below 100€/ year, and any other form of direct compensation to German car owners is likely to be challenged by the EU. Angela Merkel has remained silent so far. Well, she is on holidays - but she also knows that pensioners,  her most loyal base, would be over proportion hit by a motorway toll.

This will be fun to watch over the next months...

Coming up next:
-Opening of the Berlin-Brandenburg airport postponed to at least 2015, further significant cost increase (says a usually well-informed friend of mine who is civil engineering consultant in Berlin) ->Federal transport budget in need of review...
- Deutsche Bahn suffers heavy losses due to increased competition by long-distance buses (which the Grand Coalition did not want to subject to the motorway toll that is already levied on trucks) ->Federal transport budget in need of review...
- After 40 years of use, crucial parts of the German motorway system require fundamental renovation [last summer, severe structural damage of the A7 bridge over the Kiel Canal, built 1972, was discovered, leading to temporary closure of the bridge to heavy traffic. Just when emergency repairs of that bridge were finished a few weeks ago, structural damage of three smaller bridges on the A1 north of Lübeck (built in the early 1970s) has been revealed, leading to restrictions on heavy traffic.] 3.100 km of motorway have been built in the 1970s in West Germany, plus several hundred km in East Germany (partly, e.g. Berlin-Rostock, not yet renewed). That is more than a third of the main grid - later additions were mostly secondary or feeder lines. it is estimated that 15% of German motorway bridges are in dire need of renewal ->Federal transport budget in need of review (financing gap estimated at 6bn Euros). 
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