Germany: Angela Merkel 'loses key state election'

[nikimcbee]

Originally Posted by jimbuna

Lol....stop feeding the you know what

Russland uber alles!

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by nikimcbee

Russland uber alles!

Never mind the quality...feel the width.

[Gammelpreusse]

Originally Posted by nikimcbee

As much as I hate the 2 party system, atleast you know, who is who. Could somebody explain the difference between all of the German parties?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...stag_or_the_EP

here you have the major ones

[Gerald]

Originally Posted by jimbuna

Never mind the quality...feel the width.

[Skybird]

Unfortunately only for those understanding German a bit: a superb essay about the factitiousness of the Greens, and the inevitable schizophrenia of a wealthy society that wants to be "green". Usually I do not read the Sueddeutsche Zeitung, it is one of the most manipulative - often leftist and politically correct - national newsppapers there are in Germany, but this essay I got a link for by a friend. And it is spot on, and rips a collective mask off our society.

The hour of the hypocrites

[Gerald]

They "green" levy victory because of a very serious nuclear accident, which they soon make it impossible to rely on what other countries and what happens there, very naively thought

[Skybird]

While Fukujima helped them, it is not the basic casue for their wins (tripling in one state, there were two election on sunday). The greens are in a long trend upwards over here. Some even see them having overtaken the SPD in meaning of being the traditional prime rival of the conservatives.

[Gerald]

Originally Posted by Skybird

While Fukujima helped them, it is not the basic casue for their wins (tripling in one state, there were two election on sunday). The greens are in a long trend upwards over here. Some even see them having overtaken the SPD in meaning of being the traditional prime rival of the conservatives.

So what about the overall outcome, do you think

[Gammelpreusse]

Originally Posted by Vendor

So what about the overall outcome, do you think

A couple years of green supremacy, then when everything green is set in motion, other topics will dominate and the greens will be back to opposition or junior partner. Green is a fashion right now due to Fukushima, rising oil prices and the eternal question of energy dependency.

However, even if only a fashion, major reasons why I am personally all for green tech are:

a) Uranium may have very much reached it's peak as well, just like oil, and if not as of yet, then probably very soon, so we just replace one liability with another. Plutonium, imho, poses an even greater risk and should not even be considered due to its highly poisonous nature.
b) Nuclear power is highly expensive and highly subsidized as a result of that (just imagine that money would flow into green tech instead)
c) Those states in Germany that more then any other rely on nuclear technology, the southern states, are not willing to have their waste disposed in their regions. The whole question of nuclear waste storage is not answered as of yet and probably won't in the near future. So the obvious benefits in CO reduction are more then offset by highly dangerous waste that will stay here for thousands of years. Not a single argument so far pro nuclear power has yet managed to offset that.
d) Pressure for innovation usually leads to innovation, that is true for green tech as well.
e) It will finally solve an issue that has litereally ripped german society apart since Chernobyl.

So in principle, the greens have a chance to get some very fundamental changes going here, which should lead Germany to some very nifty results, most important energy dependency and a break up the centralized energy supply dictated by only 4 large companies who more then know how to benefit from their current monopolies. But back to energy dependancy, that one alone would solve a huge strategic question, defining world politics and what role Germany will play in it in the future (key phrase here to consider: no blood for oil)

However, for that the greens have to clear up some of their own issues.

Notably: they will have to get some of their local groups into line that are actively trying to prevent the building of the power lines connecting the north and south of Germany to deliver the green electricity to those regions that require it (and that will be have to be supplemented by a European power grid doing the same for all of Europe, check out the desertec initiative on google and how that one may also have the added benefit to get some northern African nations enough perspective to enable stable and economical successful governments, a prerequisite for democracy.

They also will have to invest massively into storage technology, a field that is underdeveloped so far.

All in all this change will cost Germany huge amounts of money, so short term is not very viable. But the long term benefits should massively out weight these investments now, should create lots of jobs and give Germany something of a national project, our own Apollo program, so to say. I personally am perfectly willing to pay higher energy costs along the transformation period to make this possible.

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by Vendor

So what about the overall outcome, do you think

Depends on the region and state we are talking about. Like the German essay I linked already said, the Green are strong in two of the wealthiest federal states in Germany, their clients represent peop,e of good education and with money to spend in their household, not really social low class. And these people find it "chic" tgo be green, while not realising that their green lifestyle may be anything but green indeed. Amongst these clients of theirs, the high for the Greens is not a voigue that will disappear in some years, but it will stay - because these clients can afford to live in this self-contradicxtion of voting green, being en vogue when voting green - but not really living any green at all. Their social background is such that they will be less effewcted from future chnages andevelopements and thus they will make up their minds less than people who are more directly effected - at least feel to be so - from such future changes or political develeopments and trends. The higher the income, the less it is a one day trend to votre green. The lower the income of a social group, the higher the chance that more of these people will change their voting habits according to daily forecasts.

However, Germany is set to get its first Green Ministerpräsident of a federal state, in coalition with the SPD.