Greens at 28% in Latest German Poll

[Toro]

Concern about atomic power continued to boost Germany's opposition Green party, which together with the Social Democrats, or SPD, would supplant Chancellor Angela Merkel's center-right government if elections were held today, an opinion poll published Wednesday showed.

The Greens would become the second-strongest party and for the first time could claim the post of Germany's chancellor, according to a poll published by the Forsa survey institute for Stern magazine. General elections are still two years away, though.

Jumping seven percentage points from a survey a week earlier, the Greens now would garner 28% of votes, becoming the biggest opposition party before the SPD, which is seen at 23%, according to the poll. The two main opposition parties together would have a 51% majority.

Ms. Merkel's CDU would get 30%, down three percentage points, while its junior coalition party, the Free Democrats, or FDP, would only garner 3% and with that not gain any parliamentary representation. The radical opposition Left party would garner 7%.

Currently, the CDU, FDP and SPD are spending most of their time debating how to phase out nuclear power, but the issue is seen as a Green core theme, leaving the other parties without credibility, Forsa head Manfred Guellner is quoted as saying in a release by Stern magazine.

Germany's Greens Surge in Poll - WSJ.com

 

[hipeter924]

I am hoping for similar results here in New Zealand, time to give the bailout parties the boot.

 

[martybegan]

Let them phase out nuclear power. It will be an interesting experiment to see if they can pull off a purely renewable resource energy conversion, or will they quietly have to go back to coal/oil/natural gas to keep thier baseline up.

Better them trying it then us. It would also be interesting to see how a single issue party would be able to govern.

 

[hipeter924]

Let them phase out nuclear power. It will be an interesting experiment to see if they can pull off a purely renewable resource energy conversion, or will they quietly have to go back to coal/oil/natural gas to keep thier baseline up.

Better them trying it then us. It would also be interesting to see how a single issue party would be able to govern.

Easy, don't bailout other nations and waste tax payers money.

 

[Douger]

Let them phase out nuclear power. It will be an interesting experiment to see if they can pull off a purely renewable resource energy conversion, or will they quietly have to go back to coal/oil/natural gas to keep thier baseline up.

They're German. They'll figure it out.

 

[L.K.Eder]

Let them phase out nuclear power. It will be an interesting experiment to see if they can pull off a purely renewable resource energy conversion, or will they quietly have to go back to coal/oil/natural gas to keep thier baseline up.

Better them trying it then us. It would also be interesting to see how a single issue party would be able to govern.

they already had opportunity to govern.

form 1998 to 2005.

joschka fischer was sec of state. he was the one who told rumsfeld that he was not convinced. in public. part of why germany did not join the iraq invasion.

the greens have another shot. there will be a green prime minister of one of the german states. baden-württemberg. the one where mercedes, porsche and many others big companies reside.

they will be watched closely on how they govern as senior partner.

 

[Baruch Menachem]

The Greens are going to love breathing coal fumes.

 

[Mad Scientist]

I've been wanting to ask this question for a while now and this as good a time as any I suppose:

1. Do you think Germany will leave the E.U.?
2. Do you think the E.U. and as a result the Euro, will collapse?

 

[ekrem]

I've been wanting to ask this question for a while now and this as good a time as any I suppose:

1. Do you think Germany will leave the E.U.?
2. Do you think the E.U. and as a result the Euro, will collapse?

1. No
2. No, because Germany isn't leaving both. The EU is a bureaucracy giant and has several funds like the Cohesion fund or science funds like the Framework Program. And many more activities, which are all based on funding. Germany is biggest contributor to EU's budget.
Without Germany the EU collapses, and Germany won't leave as Germany gains control via EU over European countries.

 

[ekrem]

Biggest net contributors to EU budget are Germany, France and Italy.
Germany pays about 8 Billion € more to EU then it receives, France and Italy around 4 Billion €.
This is solely contributions to EU's yearly budget. Bail-outs not included.

Next financial period is from 2014-2020.
It is expected, that from 2014 onwards Germany will have a net contribution of yearly 12 Billion € to EU's budget.
EU-Haushalt: Explosion der deutschen EU-Zahlungen befürchtet - WirtschaftsWoche

As those other lazy Europeans continue to need bailouts, Germany will be paying for those bailouts, too.
But these bailouts are dimensions which Germany can handle and it brings influence in return, unless Italy or France crashes.