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Liberalism resurgent (in Germany)

As I predicted some time ago, the Free Democrats: the German Liberal Party, has seen a dramatic increase in its vote at the Federal elections. It has been dramatic progress, a nearly a third increase in the FDP vote, to give them 15% and the near certainty of forming a coalition with the Conservative CDU/CSU, under the Chancellorship of Angela Merkel.

The previous "Grand coalition" of the CDU/CSU with the Social Democrats can now be replaced with a far more radical free market led government. Profound congratulations to Guy Westerwelle and all of the FDP team.

The pan European trend of the slow decay of Socialism is, yet again, mirrored in this result from Berlin. Nevertheless it is not the Conservatives that are mere beneficiaries of the swing of the pendulum. The election result confirms the continuing demand for greater political choice. The combined vote of the FDP, the Greens and the Left party is greater than either the SPD or the CDU/CSU.

This latest election result in Europe shows that voters are increasingly rejecting the old left/right choices and are seeking a more diverse set of ideas.

That should give politicians across the political spectrum some pause for thought. As the polls for the Liberal Democrats in the UK now begin to match or better the result they gained in 2005, I suspect that it is not just in Germany that we may see a greater political pluralism- even if our 19th Century political system is ill equipped to cope with it.
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Comments

Newmania said…
Yes we have so much to learn about democracy from the Germans .
11:49 am
Cicero said…
Since the Germans know what happens when democracy is destroyed, I would say that they probably do have things to teach us. Fifty years after the creation of the Federal Republic and twenty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, German democracy has not seen fascist MEPs elected to the European Parliament, whereas- to our shame- the UK has elected 2 BNP Fascists.
3:45 pm
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