[Peace-discuss] Misrepresenting Germany

[C. G. Estabrook]

The German election has been seriously misreported in the US -- an accident I'm 
sure.  The real story is the breakdown of support of the major parties, and it 
may presage what's to happen in US politics.

First, it's been represented as a victory for the party of Angela Merkel (who'll 
continue as chancellor), the CDU/CSU (roughly equivalent to the Republicans here).

In fact the CDU/CSU vote percentage remained about same at 37% as in the 
election four years ago -- but far fewer Germans voted this time, 71% of those 
eligible, compared with 78% in 2005.  (That's of course still much greater than 
the US total.)

The reason that the CDU looked good is that the SPD (roughly equivalent to the 
Democrats) collapsed, from 36% to only 23%, their worst percentage since 1953. 
Maybe voters have gotten tired of people who call themselves socialists and aren't.

That allows the CDU/CSU to form a government with the Free Democrats (a 
pro-business party roughly equivalent to Libertarians -- the word isn't used in 
that sense in Europe), who raised their total from 10% to 15%, after 
dramatically announcing their opposition to German participation in the Afghan 
war (cf. the Ron Paul "revolution").

The other beneficiaries of the SPD collapse were the left parties, Die Linke -- 
from 9% to 12% -- and the Greens (not very left) -- from 8% to 11%. Naturally, 
the NYT reported the election as a defeat for "the left" -- meaning the 
not-at-all left SPD -- while not noticing that real gains came on the real left.

And on at least one important issue, the "left/right paradigm" isn't very 
helpful. While the two major parties support the war in Afghanistan (just as in 
the US), the Libertarian/FDP oppose it, as do Die Linke and (some of) the Greens.

"All in all, however, the two big parties which have headed every German 
government since the second world war are now down to less than 57% of the vote 
[from over 70% only four years ago]. All the minor parties polled strongly and 
increased their shares. For the first time in modern Germany, all the parties in 
the new Bundestag have polled more than 10% but less than 40%" [Guardian/UK].

  --CGE