Greens Surpass Merkel Party in Local German Vote

Source: New York Times

By JUDY DEMPSEY
Published: May 22, 2011

BERLIN — A coalition of Social Democrats and Greens was swept back into power in elections Sunday in the north German city-state of Bremen, dealing a humiliating blow to Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative Christian Democratic Union party by pushing the party into third place behind the Greens, according to preliminary results.

It is the first time in any regional elections that the Greens have overtaken the Christian Democrats.

...

The rise of the Greens, which is in opposition on the federal level, confirmed that its success in regional elections in March in the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg was not just a blip in the party’s fortunes.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/23/world/europe/23germany.html

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Preliminary results 23:26 local time

SPD 37.9
CDU 20.4
Greens 22.9
Left Party 5.8
FDP 2.8
Others 9.9

CDU = republicons.

To the left of even many Democrats.

The broad consensus among them supports the German universal comprehensive health care system, state-funded child care, support to families with children, and a strong public sector.

one step at a time.

Same thing the pukes are doing here.

That's been going for 20 years.

How far have they gotten, relative to here?

Germany still has a social welfare state and the Greens and Left are gaining ground. This has a lot to do with enough people taking to the streets and organized in unions without needing the spectacle of a Tea Party ogre to understand when their interests are threatened.

I lived there 15 years and I'm very much against the CDU. They're bad, but you can admit that they are not as much of a neoliberal party on the economics as are the US Democrats at the federal level, no? Hartz IV was an SPD "achievement," and the cutbacks in for example unemployment benefits have still left these at a level of security that Americans never had in the best of times.

It's the re-branded Nazi party in Germany.

Trying to dismantle the social welfare systems.

Christian Democracy as an ideology grew in response to Social Democracy, not as a Jesus cult. The churches are to the CDU what the unions are to the SPD: powerful within a coalition, not in charge.

http://www.euronews.net/2011/05/22/greens-celebrate-historic-second-in-germany/

Germany’s Greens are celebrating as they beat the ruling Christian Democrats into third place in Bremen state elections, according to exit polls.

It is the first time the CDU has ever been behind the ecologists, who are enjoying a surge across the country at the moment.

The Social Democrats (SPD) retained control in Germany’s smallest state, as had been widely predicted. If confirmed, the result will not have any bearing on the make up of the Bundesrat, Germany’s upper house of parliament where the CDU lacks a majority.

But this is the fifth regional election defeat in a row for Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party, which is heading for its lowest rating in Bremen since 1959. And that despite falling unemployment and a three per cent economic growth forecast for a second year running.

Go Greens!

Dummya groped her in public

Blair out Merkel gone...now Sarkosky is next