The party campaigning is folowing American examples since long. It is pretty much focussed on single faces, not programs. Every party, in federal elections, names one candidate for chancellorship, like you have your parties mentioning just one candidate for president. The campaigns in Germany are not SPD versus CDU. The last one was Merkel versus Steinmeier, and before that it was Schröder versus Merkel.

I do not see your governments being less detached from their populations. And economic lobbyism in your politics is even more prominent a distortion of electroal decisions, than it even is in Brussel - and in Bru7ssel it already is a Kraken.

Do not mistake some printed intentions on some 200 year old pergaments, with contemporary realities. And do not allow them clever leaders to play on your emotional, patriotic strings to make you sing their tune. ;) The problem is not the American or German constitutions, but that leading politicians in both countries do not give much for them, and think that it is okay to violate their spirit and meaning if one finds a way to bypass them so that one gets away with it. In the past, you have often said you think I am anti-American. I am not, I hold the American state design in much, much higher esteem than you maybe even imagine. It's just that I see the very wide gap, the wide abyss between how it was meant to be, and how it actually is. The difference between idea, and reality. That difference is immense. And my criticism of America - almost always is aiming not on the founding ideas as the basis of the nation, but the actual state of things.

I'm assuming you mean that party campaigning is prevalent? Well it's not. I don't remember the last time I saw a "vote for the Republicans" or vote for the Democrats" advertisement. Most candidate ads nowadays don't even mention party.

And the lower seats of Parliament? Here we vote for individuals right down to the town dog catcher. Yes, their party helps them financially but it's still the individual we vote for, not so much what party he belongs to.

A prime example of this are states where the Lt. Governor is elected separately from the Governor. Nearly always the voters deliberately choose the Lt Gov. from the opposing political party. That wouldn't happen if people always voted along party lines.

The general feeling around here, especially amongst independents is, as a good friend put it:

" Gridlock, the best form of government for the common man."

Well I do. Europeans on this forum for example practically wear their detachment from their respective governments on their sleeves when compared to their American counterparts. When was the last time you read a European actually defend their governments actions? When was the last time you read an American do that here?

Not sure what you mean here. Something must be lost in translation.

Well I appreciate your sentiment but I firmly believe that in the game of politics perception is reality. As long as we continue to believe in the system we keep our hands in the game, and the politicians must therefore continue to respond to it. When they don't you get what will happen this November.

§%$&&!?'...!!! This is the third time in ten days or so that the server kicks me off track while transmitting a long reply, losing all the text.

Maybe I type it again tomorrow, but for this night my nerves are eaten up.

Sh!t technology.

Learn to use NotePad to store your text :)

Or keep ones messages short and sweet and ones nerves won't get eaten if it does get lost. :yep:

Nope! The Sky(bird) is the limit!

:D

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Short message has never been Skybird, cup of tea, we are all different, fortunately :yep:

Hey you guys quit picking on my friend Skybird. He can make short posts any time he wants ... :yep:

Fortunately? Aaah C'mon. I like his posts.

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I mention nothing about that I do not like his posting, but I guess you can interpret it correctly