German election brings stalemate

[JagLover]

The results of the German election are in, and the Christian Democrat party did far worse than expected and will not be able to form a coalition with the Free market Liberals of the Free Democrats. Their combined share of the vote was only 45% leaving them 21 seats short of an overall majority.

In part this result shows how wary the voters in Germany are of radical tax reform, because the Christian Democrats were 20 points clear in the polls at one point, but in the campaign the Social Democrats attacked Angela Merkel's prospective Finance Minister who is a proponent of flat taxes.

Full BBC article
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4259612.stm

[Plotloss]

I love the fact that they have both claimed the win...

[JagLover]

Indeed

Though the Social Democrats can justifiable claim to have won the campaign, they drastically reduced the Christian Democrats lead.

[off_again]

I feel for the Germans I must admit. The business leaders were hoping for some clear-cut decision from the electorate to get them out of the mire they are currently in. Not necessarily worrying about the politics of it all, just that a hung parliament does nothing for them, policies, politics and trying to get their economy moving.....

another 4-5 years of stalemate and political brinkmanship? Its really not good to have handbags a dawn when you are the third biggest economy in the world.....

[Don]

off_again said:

I feel for the Germans I must admit.

Why? They did it to themselves...

off_again said:

another 4-5 years of stalemate and political brinkmanship? Its really not good to have handbags a dawn when you are the third biggest economy in the world.....

Hopefully it will turn to enough crap that the only thing the new Government can do is call another election...you are right they need a clearer cut result.

A bit like New Zealand...

[JagLover]

off_again said:

. The business leaders were hoping for some clear-cut decision from the electorate to get them out of the mire they are currently in.

I think they were hoping for a Christian democrat/Fee Democrat win, rather than just hoping for any clear result.

The Christian democrats aren’t particularly radical, but they were proposing some policies that were a step in the right direction. For example, a reduction in the top rate of income tax, expansion of firm specific, rather than industry wide wage agreements, and the exemption of firms with 20 or less employees from some labour market legislation.