Elections in Germoney

[Franke]

Germans yesterday have elected their new Bundestag (lower chamber of German parliament), and thus, indirectly, also their new Chancellor, as the Bundestag elects the Chancellor.

Angela Merkel is the winner of this election. The Union - Merkel's Christ-Democratic Union (CDU) and their Bavarian counterpart Christ-Social Union (CSU)- gained 41,5% of all votes (33,8 back in 2009). Thus they gain 311 out of 630 seats in the Bundestag. This means they miss an absolute majority only close which would have enabled them to govern on their own, without partner. [Situation around 12 AM GMT+1]

This is rather important as Merkel's former junior partner in government, the F.D.P.- Freiheitlich-Demokratische Partei - the Liberals- dropped below 5% and will not enter the Bundestag. The liberals dropped to 4,8& from 14,6% in 2009. [German election law includes this Five-percent-hurdle in order to prevent what is regarded a total mess of small and tiny parties in the parliament].

Merkel's challenger, Peer Steinbrück, clearly lost this election. His SPD only gained 25,7% of the votes(192 seats). This is their second-worst result since 1949 (first Bundestag elections).

The two other parties, which made it into the Bundestag, are the Greens, SPD's traditional coalition partner since they entered the political stage in Germany in the 1980's (they gained 8,4% - 63 seats), and Die Linkspartei (="The Left wing Party"), a conglomerate of former Socialists from former GDR's governmental party SED and frustrated former SPD-members who left their party in protest because of Gerhard Schröder's controversial social politics back in 2007. The Left-Wingers gained 8,6% of the votes - 64 seats.

This leaves us with an interesting situation. The Conservatives - Merkel's Union- can not govern on their own. Their traditional partner, the Liberals can not support them this time (ironically the Union's gain was the Liberal's loss, here. Around 2,1 million estimated former Liberal voters voted Conservative, this time).

The three former opposition parties- SPD, Greens and Left-Wingers- have a tiny majority (319 of 630 seats)- but nobody wants to enter a coalition with the Left-Wingers. A red-red-green coalition is not popular, neither in the ranks of the SPD, nor in the Green party.

A coalition of Greens and Union has been formed in one or two of the state parliaments before, but on federal level, the Union, especially the Ultra-Conservative CSU, try to avoid a constellation like this.

This would leave us with a Grand Coalition (=formed of the two grand parties- Union and SPD). I personally am not too fond of this combination. The last time these two parties ruled together (2005-2009) they did achieve nothing too noteworthy and the country in my opinion did not move forward at all.

[AntiBlitz]

This would leave us with a Grand Coalition (=formed of the two grand parties- Union and SPD). I personally am not too fond of this combination. The last time these two parties ruled together (2005-2009) they did achieve nothing too noteworthy and the country in my opinion did not move forward at all.

Though they did not move forward, neither did they move backwards, which is a greater?

I dont know your situation in Germany, however if you look at it this way, it puts a better perspective on this.  I think keeping the country stable rather then attempting to make leaps forward is still something noteworthy. 

[Miwiw]

Oh Franke. 

[Kafein]

So the two big parties can't ally with libs and greens because libs won't get any seats with 4.8 ?  Fun times

[Molly]

Well, more like the Blacks won't with Green but can't with Libs anymore. The big red would with Green but wouldn't with Left Red.

Basicly means that nothing else is "possible" with the current mindset than Black and Big Red together (zZz).

[NuberT]

That 5% hurdle is as democratic as A.d.o.l.f. H.i.t.l.e.r. himself, it basically forces you to vote for a mayor party, because otherwise your vote is just useless.. and in the weeks prior to the election they tell you in the media which partys are gonna take the 5% hurdle and which are not. But this time it might have saved our asses..

[Paul]

Without the 5% hurdle you might have Italian conditions where mega-alliances have to be formed and tiny parties then get the power to fuck everything mid-term with leaving it, giving them overproportional power compared to the votes they got. Also it's a mess then with an overly fractioned parlament. The 5% hurdle is result of a bitter lesson learned from the Weimarer Republik. Last but not least I like that absolute fuckhead parties like NDP or FDP have to stay out, no matter if Nubert voted for them.

[Kafein]

Another problem when lots of tiny parties coexist is that voters have no power over the way they form a majority. You can have many parties losing an election again a small number (typically one) of bigger parties but still getting a majority because they decided to ally. This is basically ignoring the voters. Although honestly I still prefer that over a votewall rule.

[Franke]

Though they did not move forward, neither did they move backwards, which is a greater?

I dont know your situation in Germany, however if you look at it this way, it puts a better perspective on this.  I think keeping the country stable rather then attempting to make leaps forward is still something noteworthy.

Your perspective is absolutely right. I'm aware that we in Germany (and other countries) are still complaining at a very high level. Don't get me wrong - I really appreciate that our government does not use chemical weapons against us and stuff, but there surely are enough things they could improve here. I'm working as a [male] nurse and this job is really eating me up. Bad payment, horrible working times not enough personnel and basically no real acknowledgment for what you do. I do not think that this will change in the near future as not a single one of the parties I mentioned in the OP really seems to care about this. Other topics like human rights in far-off countries, equal rights for homosexuals, pumping trillions of €uros into the Eu and other stuff seem to be just more important for them.

Oh Franke. 

I don't know what you want, this is probably the best thread I've ever started here (basically also the only one  )

So the two big parties can't ally with libs and greens because libs won't get any seats with 4.8 ?  Fun times

Without the 5% hurdle you might have Italian conditions where mega-alliances have to be formed and tiny parties then get the power to fuck everything mid-term with leaving it, giving them overproportional power compared to the votes they got.

This. Though I'm not sure if this is only a problem in Italy. It's just that German media always gives Italy as a negative example when it comes to politics...

That 5% hurdle is as democratic as A.d.o.l.f. H.i.t.l.e.r. himself, it basically forces you to vote for a mayor party, because otherwise your vote is just useless.. and in the weeks prior to the election they tell you in the media which partys are gonna take the 5% hurdle and which are not. But this time it might have saved our asses..

What Paul wrote. I'm not sure by the way that my ass will be safe just because Westerwelle won't be around anymore.