Saxony's state premier, Georg Milbradt, resigned on Monday, April 14, over criticism of how he handled a state banking crisis. He nominated Stanislaw Tillich, also a member of Angela Merkel's CDU, as his successor. Milbradt resigned his functions both as Saxony state premier and chairman of the Saxon Christian Democratic Union (CDU). He had been under fire within his for months, ever since the virtual collapse of Saxony's state bank."I have decided to hand over my official functions, because an orderly and harmonious transition is especially important to me -- and to prevent injuries -- to me and others," the 63-year-old said on Monday in Dresden. "Now is the right time," he added, indicating he would step down at the end of May. State elections are scheduled for 16 months from now.
Milbradt resigned his functions both as Saxony state premier and chairman of the Saxon Christian Democratic Union (CDU). He had been under fire within his for months, ever since the virtual collapse of Saxony's state bank."I have decided to hand over my official functions, because an orderly and harmonious transition is especially important to me -- and to prevent injuries -- to me and others," the 63-year-old said on Monday in Dresden.
"Now is the right time," he added, indicating he would step down at the end of May.
State elections are scheduled for 16 months from now.
BERLIN: A regional ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel was forced to resign Monday, becoming the first political casualty in Germany of the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis. The move was expected to give a boost to the fast-growing Left party, which called immediately for new elections in the affected state, Saxony. The Left's demands were the latest illustration of the paralysis and fragmentation currently reshaping German politics. On one hand, the governing national grand coalition of Merkel's conservative Christian Democrats and the Social Democrats seems to have ground to a halt in pursuing reforms. That has helped open the way for smaller parties to make gains that would - if a national election were held today - spell huge losses for the Social Democrats, but also leave Merkel's party without a convincing majority. The Christian Democrat Georg Milbradt, 63, had governed Saxony since 2002, but said he was stepping down, probably at the end of May, after the debacle over the state-supported SachsenLB bank, which racked up over €30 billion, or $47.5 billion, of shaky investments, including in subprime.
BERLIN: A regional ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel was forced to resign Monday, becoming the first political casualty in Germany of the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis. The move was expected to give a boost to the fast-growing Left party, which called immediately for new elections in the affected state, Saxony.
The Left's demands were the latest illustration of the paralysis and fragmentation currently reshaping German politics.
On one hand, the governing national grand coalition of Merkel's conservative Christian Democrats and the Social Democrats seems to have ground to a halt in pursuing reforms.
That has helped open the way for smaller parties to make gains that would - if a national election were held today - spell huge losses for the Social Democrats, but also leave Merkel's party without a convincing majority.
The Christian Democrat Georg Milbradt, 63, had governed Saxony since 2002, but said he was stepping down, probably at the end of May, after the debacle over the state-supported SachsenLB bank, which racked up over €30 billion, or $47.5 billion, of shaky investments, including in subprime.
LOLOLOL... this spin gets old.
Some context: after Reunification, the CDU managed to build a power base in Saxony that paralleled the strangehold of their sister party CSU on Bavaria. First PM Kurt Biedenkopf governed royally and, eh, with rather close 'cooperation' with former friends in the economy. After too many scandals, he was forced to step down and make way for Milbradt, who had to coalition with the SPD (a dwarf in Saxony) after the next elections.
Milbradt isn't only blamed for the bank crisis, but some affairs similar to his predecessors' - his government and party was plagued by corruption affairs, sex scandals, he himself made stupid remarks after xenophobes hunted a group of Indians across a village, and then it came out that he was personally involved in the bank's murky trade: taking out preferential bank credit for private speculation.
Regarding Merkel who according to the IHT supposedly lost an ally, it was rumoured that she wants to replace Milbradt with her chief of the chancellor's office, Thomas de Maizière (cousin of the last, and first non-'communist', PM of East Germany). Milbradt seems to have pre-empted that option. *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
Two smaller opposition parties - the pro-business Free Democrats, and the Left - seized on the resignation to demand state elections a year ahead of schedule.
Oh, so the FDP asked for elections, but the leading paragraph only focuses on the demands of the Links? It's onlt the Lefties that create "paralysis and fragmentation", of course, not the brave free-marketeers.
The Left, an amalgam of former East German Communists and disgruntled Social Democrats, has been gaining in both Eastern and Western Germany in recent votes and opinion polls.
Communists or disgruntled! Eew. As you say, it gets old.
"No wonder the Left is calling for new elections. It can play the anti-capitalist and anti-globalization card," said Neugebauer.
Hmmm.... If capitalism and globalisation are so successful, why does that work? In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
I forgot poll numbers; here are the last (one month old), with the September 2004 regional election numbers in parantheses:
CDU: 40% (41.1%) SPD: 16% (9.8%) FDP: 7% (5.9%) Greens: 5% (5.1%) Left Party: 23% (23.6%) NPD (far-right) 4% (9.2%) *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
i cast my mind back to when we all were blissfully gruntling, before the Great Unwinding.
disgruntled |disˈgrəntld| adjective angry or dissatisfied : judges receive letters from disgruntled members of the public. DERIVATIVES disgruntlement noun ORIGIN mid 17th cent.: from dis- (as an intensifier) + dialect gruntle [utter little grunts,] from grunt .
maybe the Great Golden Age of Grunt was before we invented politicians :)
oink ~"When an inner situation is not made conscious, it appears outside as fate." Karl Jung~
