As of this past weekend, the new government of Germany has been 'formed'. For an American, it takes a couple of minutes to grasp and understand the whole concept of forming a government.
Elections were roughly three months ago. In Germany, if you as a party don't clear fifty percent of the vote....then you form a collation or partnership. This means you go to the number two winner of the election, or the number three winner, or the number four winner....and work up an agreement.
The CDU won by a fairly safe margin in the election, with their CSU associates in Bavaria. The problem was.....it was not anywhere near fifty percent.
The talk of a partnership with the Green? It came and went.
So, the CDU/CSU folks went back to talking to the SPD....for weeks and weeks. An agreement was worked out.....where they will go over the next four years....what taxes are acceptable to increase....what pension reform will be accomplished....what trade changes will be pushed or declined. It's a fairly long checklist over an agreement.
The final details? Cabinet posts. The SPD ends up with six cabinet posts. The CDU/CSU folks end up with eight.
German politics run differently from US politics. Germans try awful hard not to get into a really negative chat situation because they know there's to be a partnership deal always coming up every couple of years. You have to maintain some friendly nature, and simply act professional. So in Germany.....there's no political opera games as you'd note in the US.
Course, the question would come up.....if your guy takes over a cabinet post and screws up.....does it screw up the individual or the party itself? The general answer is.....the party is the one with issues in the end. They bring the guy in....."fire" him in some fashion, and move on. So the party leadership is usually careful in checking out their major players, and ensuring they are competent.
Can the SPD do a great job and get rewarded in 2017's next election, with more votes? Yes, they could. Will Merkel run for another term in 2017? Unknown at present. Are there competent CDU folks to replace Merkel? Yes, without any doubt.
The biggest political issues for the next twelve months? This debate over autobahn 'taxes' for foreigners to pay, if they transit the country. By the end of 2014, most Germans anticipate a program will be in effect, and if you were to drive across the border and use the German highway system.....you'd pay something. The question is more over.....how much?
A quiet period for the next four years? An American might look at this and say yes. Two major political parties have to grin toward the cameras and be careful about insults.....then conduct daily activities within each other's spaces. It's the kind of thing that we'd admire and wish we had more of.....within the US.
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