From Big Coalition to Black-Yellow = from frying pan into the fire (Germany federal election results

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I volunteered (as usual) to help with the election today, and was assistant team leader. So we where counting and chasing the one vote by which the tally was off (as always, it seems - no matter how hard you try, the first addition is always off), concentrating hard, dreading to have to open all counted packages again and redo it, when the janitor walks by and tells us that the FDP (liberatarians) have gotten 20 %. Agh! I only listen with half an ear. When (after clearing up the first error, going to phone the quick result, being off by 20 votes, going back, waiting in line on the phone again) I get home in time for the 8 pm main news (Tagesschau), I get a shock:
SPD (red, social democrats) down 11 %, to 23 % !
FDP at 15%, together with the Union (Black) of 33 % they have majority.
The Lefts (other red) are up some points, mostly at a cost to the SPD,
the Greens are also up some points, but sad that they couldn’t prevent black-yellow.

Shit. As if a big coalition during the last 4 years wasn’t bad enough, after the damage Schröder, the power-hungry unscrupolous “Genosse der Bosse” (comrade of the managers) did already before (Agenda 2010, Hartz IV), now everything will go down the crapper.
The AKW (nuclear power plants) will continue, instead of being shut off

Instead of a minimum wage, we will get erosion of employee rights by the FDP (which was touting “Arbeit muss sich lohnen” Work must pay off, which means to them lower tax rates for the rich instead of minimum wage as it should)

Cutting of social services right and left continues. Hindering enviromental progress in the name of jobs. More pandering to the industry. More intrusions into private data, with the Blacks riding on their illusion of “power and law rule”.

And the terrible joke my friend made a year ago may come true: the complete clown and idiot Westerwelle might become Exterior minister!

To every foreigner: he’s not typical for Germany, and there are many people who didn’t vote for him.

The only glimmer of silver on this thundercloud - if it is true at all - is that the SPD might, might come to their sense and return to their social democrat roots, instead of trying to chase the Union in the belief that being a bad copy of a right-leaning conservative party is the only way to win. (About 2 mill. SPD-voters stayed at home). They didn’t understand in the past that people turned away because they were going more and more right, instead of being for the little man.

2

Could you explain the acronyms and party colours that you’re using? I find it difficult to follow your post.

3

Short version:
Union = CDU and CSU = Christlich demokratische Union and Christlich-soziale Union (Christian democratic/ social Union) Colour black, from the catholic origins. The main conservative party, right of center.

SPD = Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands (social democratic party of Germany). Colour Red, from the socialists, communists, fighting for workers right.
Used to be left of the middle, but has steadily moved through the center to the right in an effort to play catch-up to the Union.

FDP = Freie Demokratische Partei (free democratic party) Colour Yellow (with Blue). Used to be a general liberal party, but long ago, the social-liberal wing split off towards the SPD, so now what’s left are the economic liberals, similar to liberatarians.

Grüne (Greens), Colour green. The party of the enviroment. They try to be for social fairness, multi-culture and similar, but suffer from having too many yuppies and other people removed from the problems of a Hartz IV person*.

Linke (Lefts). Colour also red. A merger of the former PDS, the East German left party, with some lefties disappointed with the SPD. Former head was Gregor Gysi, who at least made a honest impression, but now weasel and back-stabber Oskar LaFontaine is in charge (he left the SPD and his post in the middle of the term without a real reason, thus being a traitor, and then sold a contract with BILD, the trash right-wing yellow paper that helps the conservatives demolish the SPD, so he’s a backstabber)

Complete list here.

Minor player with attention: Piratenpartei (pirate party, no real colour yet), which got more than 1 %. They are for better protection of citizens data, and want to correct the copyright to be more fair to the users (not completly free). They got a boost after a too-broad law against child porn allowing internet sites to be shut down with an accusation but without proper evidence or investigation was recently pushed through.

  • Hartz IV is the new name for welfare combined with unemployment. It’s very low, so even people who earned very well middle-class and paid into the unemployment fund are suddenly close to poverty if they lose their job.
4

That’s really a pity, constanze, we have had similar developments (elected RW government) over here in Sweden, and I don’t like it at all.

It seems that they even received 2%, that’s not too bad for a start. I helped us send a Pirate to the EU parliament earlier this year, though I am unsure of what to do in our national election coming up next year, with the right wing advancing.

5

I too woke up with a bad taste in my mouth, even though the general thrust of the result was sadly not very surprising (though its clearness was). Laugh through the shock with some (slightly outdated, but more appropriate than ever) Funny van Dannen!