Ah, thanks for the clarification. Unfortunately, as far as I can tell, most voters just want change, along the lines of "anything is better than the continuation of this", but most managed to chose something that is worse. I saw poll after poll showing that most voters don't believe the CDU can improve the economy either, replies on Turkey depend on the wording of the question (there is majority support for Turkey joining the EU over the medium or longer term), and wide majorities don't want Bush or nuclear plants.

Oh, and yes, I agree, Schröder is an idiot. (My reasons are his practical sellout on every leftist idea, his clumsy pandering to various strongmen from industry captains to Putin, his backstabbing of his coalition partners the Greens, and his general bungling - Iraq was a rare exception.)

*Traitor*, n.
A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.