NRW Elections Diary | 61 comments (61 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)

Clear winner on the night...

Please forgive my ignorance : if the SPD/Greens don't get an absolute majority, is there any reason they can't form a minority administration? The odds of the Linke joining the CDU to vote them down would seem remote...

Are there constitutional obstacles to this, or what? A "grand coalition" would surely be suicidal for the SPD.

_{It is rightly acknowledged that people of faith have no monopoly of virtue
- Queen Elizabeth II}

by eurogreen on Sun May 9th, 2010 at 06:31:38 PM EST

Re: Yay die Grünen! (4.00 / 4)

The odds of the Linke joining the CDU to vote them down would seem remote...

Why? They could bet on new elections, or a better offer in another round of coalition talks.

One of the Left Party's designated double-head declared an hour ago that he doesn't support the minority government option, he wants government responsibility for his party. The SPD won't escape its identity crisis, it seems.

A "grand coalition" would surely be suicidal for the SPD.

Unfortunately, being suicidal was the normal mode for the SPD over the past five years...

_{*Lunatic*, n.

One whose delusions are out of fashion.}

by DoDo on Sun May 9th, 2010 at 07:53:32 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Yay die Grünen! (4.00 / 3)

I would say it is a matter of political tradition. Germany has a strong tradition of majority government, which also means that Die Linke may very well vote down the government if they have not a deal with it.

Or as least that is how I understand it.

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by A swedish kind of death on Mon May 10th, 2010 at 03:47:02 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Yay die Grünen! (4.00 / 3)

Essentially true. There was one case where a Red/Green minority government in Saxony was able to govern with the tacit acceptance of the PDS, but that is the only case ever AFAIK.

The fact is that what we're experiencing right now is a top-down disaster. -Paul Krugman

by dvx (dvx.clt ät gmail dotcom) on Mon May 10th, 2010 at 04:44:05 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Yay die Grünen! (4.00 / 2)

An SPD minority government tolerated by Joschka Fischer's troops preceded Germany's first Red-Green coalition in Hessen. Wikipedia names some other examples, I find one longer-lived: Richard von Weizsäcker's FDP-tolerated CDU minority government in Berlin, also in the eighties.

_{*Lunatic*, n.

One whose delusions are out of fashion.}

by DoDo on Mon May 10th, 2010 at 01:49:40 PM EST
[ Parent ]

NRW Elections Diary | 61 comments (61 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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