Comments on: German election: a tough night for the left, where now?

By: Pico RG

Pico RG — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 17:34:30 +0000

Well i guess there is a good answer for that question. But only few can make choices and others can assume. When we talk about German politics people most commonly think of Hitler and the Nazi regime. And many don’t see it from outside lately becouse like there is nothing to see or hard to see anything. Germans have help us here in Bosnia many times, and I think that Germany deserves to be the leader in the new upcoming era and world order.

By: Gordon’s speech – and law as a stick for governments

Gordon’s speech – and law as a stick for governments — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 23:37:29 +0000

[...] ability to influence who has power. In Germany this week, for instance, we’ve seen Angela Merkel’s power increase even though her party’s vote went down to its second-lowest level ever. I’m not sure Gordon’s referendum is a good idea [...]

By: Carl Gardner

Carl Gardner — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 14:53:28 +0000

I’ve not been following German politics closely recently – but am pleased with the results in one respect. I think grand coalition is a bloody awful way to govern in a liberal democracy – creating one big political establishment from the political mainstream, and encouraging people to vote in unusual ways if they want real change. Of course I’m not pleased that the SPD has done so badly, but grand coalition is part of the reason for this, and for the bad performance of the CDU/CSU too. One of the main reasons for the FDP’s success must be simply that it wasn’t part of the previous government.

I’m not sure what the way forward is for the left in Germany, or the SPD in particular. I do think though that its leadership looks exceptionally boring and tired, and that whatever the strategy – even if it’s to seek alliance with Die Linke and the Greens – it needs to win back voters from both those parties. If it can’t, then those parties may begin to think their best strategy is to try to take over leadership of the left, not to shore up the SPD by cooperating with it.

By: Lindsay

Lindsay — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 11:46:17 +0000

As long as the SPD continues making cuts in public services whilst in government, Die Linke should not even consider any sort of alliance. You can’t act as capitalism’s executioner and expect workers and the poor to see you as their representative.

By: Ralf Grahn

Ralf Grahn — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 03:44:29 +0000

Jon,

In Sweden the Social Democrats are working long term with the Green Party and the ex-Communist Left Party to forge a credible government alliance ahead of the September 2010 general election, in the same way the non-socialist parties succeeded in winning the last election.

In both cases, joint programmes and converging policies are key, such as the Greens and the Left (as proposed by its leader) dropping their demand for Sweden to leave the European Union (which it joined in 1995).

The obstacles between the parties may be higher in Germany, but as you say, there are few options …

By: Anonymous X

Anonymous X — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 01:03:07 +0000

The clear answer is, the SPD has to bite the bullet and work with Die Linke somehow, or courageously confront it head on and win back the left support. Either is massively risky. Thinking aloud, It may be worth the SPD investigating a multi party ‘red-green’ pact as has been instigated by social democrats in Sweden in Norway, admittedly in very different circumstances. Above all else, the SPD leadership, whoever that ends up as, has to remember that Die Linke are a monster they themselves created.

By: Brusselsblogger

Brusselsblogger — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 22:03:08 +0000

A bit off-topic but still interesting: there have been regional elections yesterday in Upper-Austria. The votes there for SPÖ are 11% down. It is the 5th loss in a row for the SPÖ in regional elections in Austria. Everyone in the party is alarmed.

But as there is no “Linke” in Austria, the Social Democrats get more squeezed between the Greens (which is maybe a bit more split in Austria between hard-left and liberal-left) and the FPÖ (which runs very populist anti-immigrant campaigns since years).

One starts to wonder whether there is still space for a moderate Social Democrat party.