Finally, Germany gets a new chancellor

[A.Saturnus]

Angela Merkel will be heading a grand coalition in Germany. The SPD will get extra ministers instead. Schröder is at the end of his carrier. The question is, can the coalition accomplish anything, is it maybe just what Germany needs? Not surprisingly the opposition is unhappy.

[Strike For The South]

So in Germany It is not a winner take all system? I could'nt imagine Bush giving senate seats to the democrats for another term.

[Duke Malcolm]

I wouldn't think that a coalition such as this could ever get round to much change and progression. It really does just depend on those small parties.

[Stefan the Berserker]

Actual "To do"-List:

-> -> ->

[King Henry V]

So in Germany It is not a winner take all system? I could'nt imagine Bush giving senate seats to the democrats for another term.

Because there was no exact winner in the German election. It's not like America where you basically have a two party system.

[Tribesman]

It may be very succesful , or it could collapse in a very short time .
The allocation of both Finance and Foriegn ministries to the SPD might just balance out the worst excesses of the CDU policies .
But it remains to be seen if the left and right can come together to work the middle ground .
If not then its new elections , a probable further decline for the CDU and the strengthening of the smaller parties .
Should be fun to watch .

[Louis VI the Fat]

Substitute 'fun' for eh, 'interesting' and I agree with Tribesman.

[Tribesman]

Come on Louis , a pro war chancellor and an anti war foriegn minister , that is gonna be fun

[Papewaio]

So what Bush was Pro-War and Powell was Anti-War, both in the equivalent roles.

If the chancellor is the head with real power then the foreign minister will be going to the foreign governments "I believe in teamwork and diplomacy. I also believe in preparing thoroughly before invading. So I apologise for us going alone, with a half baked scheme. Oh well at the end of my term I will resign."

[Tribesman]

But they were both of the same Party , not a last resort coilition of two pretty much completely opposed parties .

[Ser Clegane]

Angela Merkel will be heading a grand coalition in Germany. The SPD will get extra ministers instead. Schröder is at the end of his carrier. The question is, can the coalition accomplish anything, is it maybe just what Germany needs? Not surprisingly the opposition is unhappy.

Over the last couple of days I started to wonder if Schröder ever was serious in his insistance that he should remain chancellor. One could get the feeling that he played the stubborn guy to gain a very valuable bargaining chip to get some extra minister posts and to strengthen SPD-positions in the program of the new government.

Personally I am glad that we finally came to a result and any predictions whether this administration will get the act done are currently just reading in the crystal ball.
I sure hope that they use the fact that there is no more Bundesrat-veto to block decisions, and that they use the next years for some reforms of the Bundesrat and the Länder-elections (we definitely need to put an end to these omni-present elections - get some fixed sates for all elections).

In the end this will only be a period of transition and it will be interesting to see which party is able to benefit from this transition period - my guess is that of the two large parties it will no be the one that decides to block decisions in this coalitions...

[Kaiser of Arabia]

W00T! Anyone's better than Schröder! Plus, she's pretty cool, compared to other European Politicians *cough*Chirac*cough*

[Louis VI the Fat]

Schröder? Who's Schröder, Capo?

Trust Chrirac to have already made new alliances in his endeavour to bring you guys down.

Edit: Merkel and Chirac at l'Elysée.

[Kaiser of Arabia]

Schröder? Who's Schröder, Capo?

Trust Chrirac to have already made new alliances in his endeavour to bring you guys down.

Edit: Merkel and Chirac at l'Elysée.

*Waits for it...* *cricket* *...realizes it isn't coming*

Chrirac sucks. He's a very bad leader.

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

WAHOO! WAHOO! WAHOO!


I mean...I reluctantly accept this new leadership while I plot the restoration of Imperialism to Germany...

[Taffy_is_a_Taff]

A German friend of mine (female) was not happy with this development because the new chancellor is conservative.

In fact it went something like this: "I'd be ecstatic that there is a female chancellor but she's a conservative so I'm not ecstatic".


BOOO HISSSSSSSSSS!!! German rightwingers stole the opportunity for the German left to provide the first female chancellor. What scoundrel behaviour, eh?

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

Female conservatives can't win, can they?

[A.Saturnus]

A German friend of mine (female) was not happy with this development because the new chancellor is conservative.

In fact it went something like this: "I'd be ecstatic that there is a female chancellor but she's a conservative so I'm not ecstatic".


BOOO HISSSSSSSSSS!!! German rightwingers stole the opportunity for the German left to provide the first female chancellor. What scoundrel behaviour, eh?

But the vice-chancellor will still be straight.

[Franconicus]

Angela Merkel. That is painful man. I remember when she was minister for environment I also remember her visiting Bush before the war. It is a shame.
But one thing is shure. She knows how to get the power. And she will keep it.Do not think that Germany will have a weak government, maybe the wrong one, but not weak.
Oh Schröder, why couldn't you prevent that?

[Voigtkampf]

Over the last couple of days I started to wonder if Schröder ever was serious in his insistance that he should remain chancellor. One could get the feeling that he played the stubborn guy to gain a very valuable bargaining chip to get some extra minister posts and to strengthen SPD-positions in the program of the new government.

That would imply a level of unselfishness of which the good old Gerd is utterly incapable of. Guess he’ll be the first chancellor they will have to drag out of the office while he screams and cries and clings to his desk.

[Adrian II]

That would imply a level of unselfishness of which the good old Gerd is utterly incapable of. Guess he’ll be the first chancellor they will have to drag out of the office while he screams and cries and clings to his desk.

To me it looks more like Angie will have to be dragged screaming and kicking into the Kanzlei, because she does not have a clue as to what she should do there. The fact that she managed to reduce a clear lead in the polls to virtually nil in the course of four weeks is a bad omen in itself. She starts off with very little credit. Maybe we will see new elections in Joymanny within a year.

[Al Khalifah]

Alas, looks like Europes major economic power is going to remain socialist for another long drag. There goes the hope of seeing the necessary changes to reform the European Union into a viable and globally competitive union instead of a bunch of hands all desperately diving into the biscuit tin. Germany is in trouble at the moment and needs some durastic changes - this unholy coalition will lead to nothing but innactivity.

[Arcanum]

I wouldn't judge the current government too fast, the SPD and the CDU have come together quite a lot the past few years...

My prediction is that Merkel sits out her puny 4 year chancellorship and then gets voted off. Her ways are too strange to be successful, before the war in Iraq she agreed with it, afterwards she tried to tell us she never did and now she preached honesty in the time of the election...come on?!

Anyway, other than that she seems capable of arguing with Citizens at least, saw a very interesting "Question Round" (maybe wrong, I guess) with her in which she really, really owned a few citizens attacking her because of the tax politics she is following.

We'll see...

[Kralizec]

Can't argue with Schroder being a pretty lousy leader, but Merkel?? She started in the polls with a huge lead, then managed to win by photo finish. That should say something.
Guess we'll just have to wait and see.

[Franconicus]

Merkel has no concept. But she does not need it. She has a very good sence for power. She managed to dominate the Union and she forced the SPD to support her. So do not undersestimate her!

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

I don't like her stance on fighting side-by-side with the Americans, but you have to take the good with the bad.

[Craterus]

I don't like her stance on fighting side-by-side with the Americans, but you have to take the good with the bad.

Would you prefer fighting AGAINST the Americans? It's not all bad...

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

Would you prefer fighting AGAINST the Americans? It's not all bad...

I'd prefer not to fight with them at all...the one thing Schröder did well was opposing them...

[Craterus]

I'd prefer not to fight with them at all...the one thing Schröder did well was opposing them...

True, I was just comparing one extreme with another.

[A.Saturnus]

That would imply a level of unselfishness of which the good old Gerd is utterly incapable of. Guess he’ll be the first chancellor they will have to drag out of the office while he screams and cries and clings to his desk.

Hmm, he could have been vice-chancellor. He said today that he will definitely not be part of the new government. Don´t know whether it was selfishness, his head brought the SPD 8 ministers.