Merkel to be chancellor after deal with SPD [Germany]

[arcos]

Merkel to be chancellor after deal with SPD

The Christian Democrat leader Angela Merkel is set to replace Gerhard Schröder as Germany's next chancellor, in a political deal that will see the departure of Mr Schröder from the political stage, senior members of the ruling Social Democrats have told the Financial Times.

Ms Merkel's expected victory in the battle for the chancellorship is likely to be announced on Monday, following a meeting tomorrow evening in Berlin between Mr Schröder and Ms Merkel. The two leaders met on Thursday evening for four hours to agree the framework of a SPD-CDU grand coalition, but refused yesterday to disclose details. The talks also included the SPD leader Franz Müntefering, and Edmund Stoiber, Bavarian premier.

Officials close to Mr Schröder said he would not become vice chancellor and foreign minister in the coalition, in spite of pressure from within the SPD for him do so. "The chancellor has done what was necessary, to ensure the SPD is on an equal footing with the CDU in the coalition," one official said.

The election yielded a hung parliament but left the CDU holding four more seats than the SPD. Ms Merkel promptly claimed the chancellorship but Mr Schröder, citing his party's unexpectedly strong performance, refused to stand aside.

<snip>

http://news.ft.com/cms/s/2770c204-3798-11da-af40-00000e2511c8.html

[stepnw1f]

1. Bad News (nt)

[AX10]

2. Another Bushbot in power.

We need congress back next year.

I wish a horrible failure to Ms. Merkel's extremist 'government'.

[JI7]

3. how the fuck did this happen

didn't the Chimp endorse Merkel ?

[daleo]

4. This is still a coalition

I can't see Merkel getting her way very often, if I understand this kind of coalition government.

[ToolTex]

5. I don't think anyone understands this kind of coalition government!

I'm not sure that there has ever before been such a coalition. I always thought coalitions usually had at least one or two points of agreement.

[JDPriestly]

7. The SPD and parties to the left including Greens and the other

leftist party, which I don't know much about, will still have the power on issues on which they agree. It makes no sense for the SPD to have made this deal with Merkel unless the CDU/CSU has really promise them a lot. That is because the Greens, that other leftist party and the SPD will be able to vote together on many issues. I wonder if the SPD/CDU/CSU deal is kind of a bluff, as in the SPD saying to the CDU/CSU, "so you think you can govern, let's see you try."

[AX10]

18. The Greens and Free Democrats will have power in not...

allowing the country to fall rightward on it's social policy.

That's about it. The Greens and Free Dems don't agree on economic policy.

[JDPriestly]

20. I wasn't referring to the Free Dems.

There is yet another party to the left of Schroeder's Party, other than the Greens. I'm not sure exactly what it is.

[Endangered Specie]

22. It is simply called the "Left Party"

its roots in the east german soviet supported party (?name)

[Kellanved]

28. I hate to break the news to you

But the Free Democrats are to the right of the CDU on pretty much all issues, especially social policies.
And the greens have the tendency to be very "left" before elections, but turn into a FDP-lite soon after. They do not have a real left party base.

[daleo]

8. This does seem like an odd duck

Sometimes you get "grand coalitions" in war-time or national unity governments. But this hardly rises to that urgency. I don't see how it can last. Perhaps the whole idea is to prove that it can't work, so that someone can cut a deal that would otherwise seem too controversial (for example with the ex-communists).

[mazzarro]

11. Once she is in power - CDU will claim mandate of some sort

Remember * and the rethugs in 2000? I'll bet you that the CDU will start pushing their agenda within a year and after a couple of 'faked' terrorist alerts!

[KittyWampus]

15. Indeed, why assume Merkel & the CDU will play by the rules.

[Gloria]

6. I've read that this gov. probably won't last very long.....

even only a few months. We'll have to see...

[leveymg]

12. Long enough to move Iran sanctions at the UN.

Once it's in Bolton's court, it won't matter if China and Russia veto. BushCo will have its "mandate of the willing" to bomb Buhshehr. :nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke:

[fujiyama]

9. What is it

with all these right wing and center right governments popping up all over?

It seems to have started in Austria with Haider in the late nineties and many of them seem to have come into power.

Well, the Spanish deserve credit though. They tossed the fuckers out.

[DaveColorado]

10. To clarify

"What is it with all these right wing and center right governments popping up all over?"


The Democrats are considered center-right in terms of world politics, and the Republicans far-right.

[meganmonkey]

16. You are absolutely correct - that's why it cracks me up when people

call folks like Howard Dean 'far-left' or 'fringe' - they have no sense of context in world politics (or they are just spewing inflammatory rhetoric on the assumption that their listeners/readers have no context for it).

[Endangered Specie]

23. You dont seriously think the average Republican

knows about much beyond the USA?

[Zynx]

14. Portugal and Norway threw their right-wing govs out too.

However, the right wingers have won in a number of places.

[Kipling]

17. Reagan and Thatcher started a world right wing offensive.

People are willing to give Reagan and his daemonic sidekicks credit for saving the world economy, restoring glory to the US, UK, and Canada, and winning the Cold War. The ripples are still being felt, but with the massive unpopularity of right-moving centrist Blair and hard neocon Bush in their home countries, and this unexpectedly good result for the Left in Germany (the government will have to take a centrist position on most things), I think a backlash is beginning. Only Australia and France are still moving right: if Sarkozy falls, then the left can start dreaming of world domination once more.

[AX10]

19. I agree. France may fall back leftward and Italy most likely...

will next fall as Berlesconi (criminal, facsist) is floundering.

Reagan and Thatcher are horrible pigs. :puke:

[Kellanved]

33. "left can start dreaming of world domination once more"?

:wtf:

[Endangered Specie]

24. Canada is still holding to its Liberal govt.

any Canadians want to fill me in on this wholr corruption/scandal thing?

[BootinUp]

13. Articles I read right after the election

indicated that Merkel road to success on a campaign of half truths which nearly collapsed completely at the end when one of her advisors/spokespersons let slip some truth about their plans to fix the economy.

[Kellanved]

29. she promised Reaganomics

minus the military buildup.

And no, the press has not written a word about it so far, not even after her using Reagan's debate speech almost verbatim.

[Endangered Specie]

21. Thats what you get when you split the left vote.

[Nostradamus]

25. Hitler got into power with a vote similar to Merkel

[Endangered Specie]

26. Im not sure how that comparision works...

true the Catholic Center (the CDU has roots in) voted for the Enabling act, but werent the SPD (social democrats) the only to object?

[Kellanved]

31. No, that's ridiculous

No matter how much I dislike Merkel, I can't let an abstruse statement like that stand.

The Federal Republic doesn't work like the Weimar republic when it comes to the office of the Chancellor.
Should Merkel be chosen to lead a grand coalition, then she'll have to win the approval of the (or "a", but that would mean no grand coalition) majority of the members of the 16th German Bundestag to become chancellor (chancellorette?). That is the way intended by the authors of the German constitution and fully compatible with the tradition of the postwar German republic.

Any comparison to the Hitler-Hindenburg-Papen deal is plain wrong and an insult to the Federal Republic.

[Endangered Specie]

27. Since when did the SPD and CD/SU have that much in common...

you'd think that a country with a supposed 'two major parties' system (such as Germany has), the parties would be at least somewhat idealogically opposed no?

[Kellanved]

32. They don't

The main advantage of the grand coalition is that it is able to reform the structural makeup of the Federal Republic.

The main disadvantage of the grand coalition is that it is able to reform the structural makeup of the Federal Republic.


Or put differently: a grand coalition can jump past most checks and balances.

There are quite a few reforms endorsed by both parties, but blocked out of petty partisan motives nonetheless. In the past four years even obviously necessary laws were blocked for no reason but to make Schröder look bad.
On the other hand time and the increasing importance of the EU has muddied the distinction of the Federal Government and the states. Reintroducing a clear separation would allow the Federal Government regain maneuverability - at the moment it has very little to say.

Basically the Grand coalition is considered to be a catapult: it won't accomplish much in the way of implementing either party's agenda, but will allow the next government to be far more effective. To the good or the bad.

[Kellanved]

30. The article is premature

It is a likely outcome, but so far it is just a guess. Not exactly good style to write that headline.