I completely agree that factually that in the month after they chose him that the SPD surged and it looked over for Angie and the CDU/CSU....but that wasn't because of Martin Schultz....that was hope and disappointment in the status quo....
And then your correct - Schultz opened his mouth and did some campaigning and went very quickly downhill from there. But the fate was sealed when they chose him. Watching the process this last summer was like watching a train wreck coming in slow motion...you knew it was coming.
Your reasoning for voting for the Greens was a large reason that some of the people I know who normally voted for the SPD or CDU voted for the Greens (largely the Russia reason you point out). And I know many lifelong CSU and SPD voters who voted for first time in their life for the FDP and even the "Linke". And when you look at the loss of support for the CDU/CSU and the SPD compared to the other parties, there was no surprise there except for the disgusting and scary result of the surge for the AfD....wow...that is pretty crazy...my only thought is that they will hopefully be like the "Piraten" party and lose support and a voice very quickly within the next year...but we shouldn't assume that will happen and Germans need to pay attention that the debates are not lost in the noise and dangerous rhetoric coming from the AfD. Putin is smiling right now about their win and will happily watch the destabilization from within Germany with the voice of the AfD. They are Germany's Trumpistas and very frightening in my opinion...13%....wow...
Finally, I just need to say that the first time I actually thought Martin Schultz had any "fight" in him and I somewhat liked him briefly was when last night on election night he stated that the SPD will not be forming the traditional bloc with the CDU/CSU....Merkel looked shocked...
We shall see what happens next...my only hope is that Germans are opening their eyes and are paying attention....
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