[Peace-discuss] Misrepresenting Germany

[unionyes]

Yes,

And the SPD will soon have a monumental internal battle.
There are already calls from the younger and older more Left SPD rank and 
file calling for a complete removal of the neo-liberal / corporate 
collaborating leadership.
Unlike here with the national Democratic Party ( that was NEVER a workers 
party ) and the iron grip of the corporate interests, this will more than 
likely happen.

David J.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "C. G. Estabrook" <galliher at illinois.edu>
To: "peace-discuss" <peace-discuss at anti-war.net>
Sent: Monday, September 28, 2009 10:15 PM
Subject: [Peace-discuss] Misrepresenting Germany


> 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
>
>
>
>
>
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