They had yet another election here yesterday. The results seem a little more promising than last time. This was the local state election. Here's the results.
We're off to Chicago in a few hours. We'll be there for the next month. We're up way too early, but I guess we're just too excited. Our roommate is coming along for part of the time. So I'll be looking forward to playing tour guide for part of the time. If I don't have deep dish pizza at least twice, I will consider this trip a bust. Hopefully I'll have a chance to check in here a few times. Until then...
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Monday, May 10, 2010
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Meet the new boss...
... same as the old boss.
Can I say "I guess they were fooled again"?
That's it for the big election. I know I'm still not in any position to comment on the politics here, but I'm going to try anyway.
We watched the results come in on Sunday night. It was all over in about two minutes. Seriously. Very anticlimactic. CDU/CSU scored a victory with about 34% of the vote. (That still sounds weird to say, victory with 34%.) Meanwhile, the largest opposition party, the SPD really got it handed to them. If I remember correctly, their totals were down nearly 10 points from the previous election.
I know this is overly simplified but to compare it to the US system, I have it broken down like this:
If CDU/CSU is Republican, then SPD is the Democrats, although both are much more in the middle. FDP are kind of Republican-light (but very pro-business). The remaining parties that make an impact, the Left and the Greens are (obviously) left-leaning. Here's a graph showing the results:
So what does that mean? How bad is it?
To be honest, I don't really know for sure. At first glance, it really doesn't appear much different from the previous election. CDU/CSU in charge, with SPD as the opposition. But again, that is oversimplifying it. Here's another graph I stole (in the name of education!) showing the seats in parliament:
The CDU/CSU, combined with the FDP (CDU's preferred partner), now have a majority in parliament and can probably accomplish whatever they want. 332 seats out of 622 for the two combined partners. Most people I know here are not too happy. Then again, Cologne is one of the most liberal cities in the country.
I guess what most people were surprised by was how much SPD slipped and how much FDP received. With the economic crisis still lingering, I wouldn't have thought that a pro-big business party stood a chance. But Germany has weathered the recession differently than other developed countries and for different reasons. So what do I know? If you're still reading and have interest, this might provide a better post-election wrap up for you than I could ever try to provide.
Not only was I surprised by how quickly the vote was called, I was also surprised to learn the new government took over on the very next day. No voting in November then waiting months for Inauguration Day. And, like the local city election, it was the most simple ballot I have ever seen. One piece of paper, two choices. The first choice is for Chancellor, the second is a vote for a party seat in parliament. It really couldn't be any easier to complete.
I had read an article about the idea of instituting mandatory voting. Apparently the government is worried about the continued poor voter turnout. The numbers have been going down for years. First of all, forcing compulsory voting in a democracy sounds pretty damn ironic to me. Secondly, they ought to consider what poor voter turnout means. The previous election's voter turnout dropped all the way to 77%! The horror!
Check out these numbers from the U.S. if you want to know what low turnout means.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Is it too late to seek asylum here?
I probably had a shot at securing that during the previous administration. After seeing this video via a friend's Facebook post, I just wanted to crawl under a big blanket of embarrassment. I applaud political activism when there's actual thought behind it. But c'mon people, a little research goes a long way.
Why do I always feel the need to apologize for such ignorance on behalf of my fellow countrymen? CNN International is pretty bad, but I'm glad there's no Fox News available on our system here.
From the politically challenged we now turn to the politically unenthusiastic. Here's what's going on in advance of Germany's national election. (I want to be tired of all the "Yes We Can" parodies but the one mentioned in that article was pretty good.) We tried watching the debate a bit but my German comprehension is no where near good enough to follow a political discussion. From the looks of it, I didn't miss any fireworks. In the interest of equal time, here's what the other parties had to say. What a mess. You know what? Scratch that thought about seeking asylum.
Everyone I talk to here seems pretty disenchanted with the current government. That said, they all seem resigned to another four years of the same situation. The more I think about it, the more this all reminds me of 2004. It is probably too late but you can change things, people. Get out there and get organized. More importantly, get out and vote. And make sure your friends and family do as well.
On a lighter note, I now make my last mention of FC Köln's season unless there's actually something positive to mention. They are 0-1-4. 5 games and not a single win. If I read correctly, one of the local papers are already calling for the firing of the head coach. I suppose it is only a matter of time. I'd say "Go Bears" but that's not really working for me either right now. I hate to repeat myself, but again, what a mess.
Why do I always feel the need to apologize for such ignorance on behalf of my fellow countrymen? CNN International is pretty bad, but I'm glad there's no Fox News available on our system here.
From the politically challenged we now turn to the politically unenthusiastic. Here's what's going on in advance of Germany's national election. (I want to be tired of all the "Yes We Can" parodies but the one mentioned in that article was pretty good.) We tried watching the debate a bit but my German comprehension is no where near good enough to follow a political discussion. From the looks of it, I didn't miss any fireworks. In the interest of equal time, here's what the other parties had to say. What a mess. You know what? Scratch that thought about seeking asylum.
Everyone I talk to here seems pretty disenchanted with the current government. That said, they all seem resigned to another four years of the same situation. The more I think about it, the more this all reminds me of 2004. It is probably too late but you can change things, people. Get out there and get organized. More importantly, get out and vote. And make sure your friends and family do as well.
On a lighter note, I now make my last mention of FC Köln's season unless there's actually something positive to mention. They are 0-1-4. 5 games and not a single win. If I read correctly, one of the local papers are already calling for the firing of the head coach. I suppose it is only a matter of time. I'd say "Go Bears" but that's not really working for me either right now. I hate to repeat myself, but again, what a mess.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
U-Bahn ride
For my second attempt at posting random audio from the city, I thought I'd record a bit of my trip back home this afternoon. Our trip begins here at Rudolfplatz
and ends here in Ebertplatz.
It was mid-afternoon and it seemed to be a pretty quiet crowd. I started recording when I got in the train. I stopped recording after stepping off the train in Ebertplatz and watching the train take off. Click below to listen.
UBahnRide.m4a
Here's a random photo I thought I'd share. As you are aware, the national elections are coming up at the end of the month. There's campaign posters everywhere. To be honest, they all look the same to me. This one, however, stands out.
and ends here in Ebertplatz.
It was mid-afternoon and it seemed to be a pretty quiet crowd. I started recording when I got in the train. I stopped recording after stepping off the train in Ebertplatz and watching the train take off. Click below to listen.
UBahnRide.m4a
Here's a random photo I thought I'd share. As you are aware, the national elections are coming up at the end of the month. There's campaign posters everywhere. To be honest, they all look the same to me. This one, however, stands out.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Wahl-O-Mat
See how you fit in Germany's political landscape. Answer 38 questions and see your answers compared to various parties thanks to the Wahl-O-Mat. I can't vote (wählen), but it helped me make a little more sense out of the landscape. You can even choose between English and German.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Democracy In-action
Yesterday was phase one of elections here. On Sunday night we read an estimated 33% of the population voted in the local elections. The paper now states closer to 50%. This was for mayor and (as far as I could tell) two other local offices. Next month is the big national election.
I'll be happy to see all the street ads going away. It is hard enough to learn to drive here when signs are different and stop lights are in different places. It is even more difficult when there's ten political ads posted all around each intersection. I will, however, be disappointed to not see all the new creative ways of blacking out teeth or adding funny mustaches on candidate's portraits.
So yeah, 50%. I first wanted to write about how pathetic 33% was. But 50%? I hate to say it but that's probably better than the average local elections in the States. Who was the big winner yesterday? The party of "Köln kann's besser" (SPD) seemed to have more appeal than the CDU's "Köln Kann's." 55% - 33%. Adjectives, people. That's all it takes.
What was election day like here? I accompanied our two eligible voters to the polling location yesterday afternoon. Polls closed at 6pm. We went around 4:30. The polling center was in a grade school, staffed mostly by older retirees. After having your ID approved, you're given three paper ballots. One for each of the open positions. Apparently they experimented with computerized polls a few elections back but there weren't any at this location this time.
The ballots are as simple as possible. All candidates are listed in nice big print with a circle next to each. To vote for your candidate, you mark an 'X' in the circle. Do that once on each ballot and you're finished. Easy. Simple. No confusing butterfly ballots or hanging chads or anything like that. Once you're done, you place all three ballots inside the same box. We spent more time walking to and from the school than actual time voting. And we spent a whole five minutes watching the late news to see the results. We'll see what happens with next month's elections. I guess after last November in Chicago, anything will seem pretty underwhelming in comparison.
I'll be happy to see all the street ads going away. It is hard enough to learn to drive here when signs are different and stop lights are in different places. It is even more difficult when there's ten political ads posted all around each intersection. I will, however, be disappointed to not see all the new creative ways of blacking out teeth or adding funny mustaches on candidate's portraits.
So yeah, 50%. I first wanted to write about how pathetic 33% was. But 50%? I hate to say it but that's probably better than the average local elections in the States. Who was the big winner yesterday? The party of "Köln kann's besser" (SPD) seemed to have more appeal than the CDU's "Köln Kann's." 55% - 33%. Adjectives, people. That's all it takes.
What was election day like here? I accompanied our two eligible voters to the polling location yesterday afternoon. Polls closed at 6pm. We went around 4:30. The polling center was in a grade school, staffed mostly by older retirees. After having your ID approved, you're given three paper ballots. One for each of the open positions. Apparently they experimented with computerized polls a few elections back but there weren't any at this location this time.
The ballots are as simple as possible. All candidates are listed in nice big print with a circle next to each. To vote for your candidate, you mark an 'X' in the circle. Do that once on each ballot and you're finished. Easy. Simple. No confusing butterfly ballots or hanging chads or anything like that. Once you're done, you place all three ballots inside the same box. We spent more time walking to and from the school than actual time voting. And we spent a whole five minutes watching the late news to see the results. We'll see what happens with next month's elections. I guess after last November in Chicago, anything will seem pretty underwhelming in comparison.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Political Follow-Up
A brief follow up on my last post. To recap, we've seen "Köln Kann's" and "Köln kann's besser." Enter a third variation:
The FDP promises "Köln kann mehr." (Cologne can do more.)
In all fairness, I haven't even been here for a month yet. And there is no way I could possibly make sense of the politics. But it sure makes it difficult to tell these parties apart when the slogans are all variations of the same thing.
Let the debates begin!
The FDP promises "Köln kann mehr." (Cologne can do more.)
In all fairness, I haven't even been here for a month yet. And there is no way I could possibly make sense of the politics. But it sure makes it difficult to tell these parties apart when the slogans are all variations of the same thing.
Let the debates begin!
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Monday, July 20, 2009
If you go, take a jacket
She was at work hours before I ever woke up. She had been outside and already experienced the weather. But of course I ignored the advice over the phone about taking a rain coat. It looked beautiful outside the bedroom window. I'll wear my regular jacket and a bring a baseball hat just in case.
I was awake early and felt good. Two cups of coffee, some toast. Finally, a nice day to go for a long walk through the city. I thought I'd spend a few hours roughly tracing the remains of the medieval city wall and then meet up with Her for brunch before heading home together. I grabbed my iPod and my small city guidebook and made my way to the S-Bahn. It was windy but the sun felt warm on my black jacket. Feel free to tag along...
Here's a copy of the map in case you get lost. Click on the "More" button and switch on the photos to see other (most likely better) photos than the ones I'll post.
I arrived at Ebertsplatz. Much to my surprise, the weather had done a 180 on me and it was now pouring rain, windy and cold. I was frustrated. Still, I made it this far and I was tired of the weather dictating when I can and cannot talk a walk. Just about every shop is closed on Sundays so I had little chance of picking up an umbrella anywhere near where I was walking. I spent the rest of the afternoon carefully plotting my way via awnings. Occasionally the sun came out, although the rain always seemed to come back with a vengance. By the time I got to Neumarkt I was ready to start building an ark.
Though there are movie theaters in the area (including one that shows films in English), Ebertplatz is not named after the film critic. Most likely it is named after this guy. It is a rather poorly designed sunken park surrounded by a large roundabout. As far as I can tell, the main purpose of this park seems to be to serve the needs of overfilled bladders. But if you head out the southwest corner of the park and back up to street level, you'll come across this.
That's the Eigelsteintorburg or Eigelstein Gate, one of only three that remain from the original medieval city fortifications. We'll see another one in a little bit. It is surrounded by flower shops and cafes. If you walk through the gates and continue heading south, you'll walk through a mostly Turkish neighborhood. You'll also find the Gaffel brewery, one of the largest brewers of Kölsch beers.
Incidentally, note the campaign poster in the first picture above. (You can click on the photo for a larger image.) As of last week, it is officially open season for campaigning and these posters began springing up everywhere. Elections take place on September 27, 2009. 2009. I knew this was coming and was looking forward to all the variations on "Yes We Can." Apparently two parties are going to try to lay claim to this one. The local chapter of the CDU (the party of Chancellor Merkel) is going with "Köln Kann's." Meanwhile the SPD is trying to one-up them with "Köln kann's besser." Roughly, that's "Cologne can do it" vs "Cologne can do it better." Well played, gentlemen. Well played indeed.
Anyway, as I hid in a doorway waiting for the rain to slow down, my spirits were somewhat lifted watching the waiters and waitresses set up the tables and chairs at the cafes. I was hoping they knew something about the weather that I didn't.
Nope. I pressed on. Above is a shot of the Dom. Never difficult to get oriented in this city as long as you can spot the cathedral.
Wait a minute, what's this? Blue skies? Just two minutes ago I was hiding under a tree in this park waiting for the rain to ease up. The large modern building is part of the Mediapark, an area I have yet to explore.
Here's another bit of the Stadtmauer, or city wall, near Kyotostrasse and Hansaring. I haven't found much information on this site yet so if anyone knows more feel free to comment.
A little further along at Christoperstrasse you get a view of St. Gereon to the southeast (above) and the Colonius TV Tower lurking in the background to the northwest (below).
Crossing Christopherstrasse and looking again to the southeast you'll spot the Dom (above).
Our photos end here at the Hahnentorburg, the second city gate, at Rudolphplatz. This gate was often used as the ceremonial entrance by kings and emperors as they made their way to the Shrine of the Three Kings inside the Dom.
Note the rapidly approaching clouds. From here it was a bit of a scramble back to the Dom. Ceremonial it was not. I eventually made it to the Dom where it was grey and blustery. My hat was soaked. I met Her and we headed off in search of coffee and food. By the time we arrived in the Altstadt the sun was back out. This time for good. We grabbed a table outside in the sun and slowly re-energized. As far as I'm concerned, that's a Sunday morning well-spent.
I was awake early and felt good. Two cups of coffee, some toast. Finally, a nice day to go for a long walk through the city. I thought I'd spend a few hours roughly tracing the remains of the medieval city wall and then meet up with Her for brunch before heading home together. I grabbed my iPod and my small city guidebook and made my way to the S-Bahn. It was windy but the sun felt warm on my black jacket. Feel free to tag along...
Here's a copy of the map in case you get lost. Click on the "More" button and switch on the photos to see other (most likely better) photos than the ones I'll post.
I arrived at Ebertsplatz. Much to my surprise, the weather had done a 180 on me and it was now pouring rain, windy and cold. I was frustrated. Still, I made it this far and I was tired of the weather dictating when I can and cannot talk a walk. Just about every shop is closed on Sundays so I had little chance of picking up an umbrella anywhere near where I was walking. I spent the rest of the afternoon carefully plotting my way via awnings. Occasionally the sun came out, although the rain always seemed to come back with a vengance. By the time I got to Neumarkt I was ready to start building an ark.
Though there are movie theaters in the area (including one that shows films in English), Ebertplatz is not named after the film critic. Most likely it is named after this guy. It is a rather poorly designed sunken park surrounded by a large roundabout. As far as I can tell, the main purpose of this park seems to be to serve the needs of overfilled bladders. But if you head out the southwest corner of the park and back up to street level, you'll come across this.
That's the Eigelsteintorburg or Eigelstein Gate, one of only three that remain from the original medieval city fortifications. We'll see another one in a little bit. It is surrounded by flower shops and cafes. If you walk through the gates and continue heading south, you'll walk through a mostly Turkish neighborhood. You'll also find the Gaffel brewery, one of the largest brewers of Kölsch beers.
Incidentally, note the campaign poster in the first picture above. (You can click on the photo for a larger image.) As of last week, it is officially open season for campaigning and these posters began springing up everywhere. Elections take place on September 27, 2009. 2009. I knew this was coming and was looking forward to all the variations on "Yes We Can." Apparently two parties are going to try to lay claim to this one. The local chapter of the CDU (the party of Chancellor Merkel) is going with "Köln Kann's." Meanwhile the SPD is trying to one-up them with "Köln kann's besser." Roughly, that's "Cologne can do it" vs "Cologne can do it better." Well played, gentlemen. Well played indeed.
Anyway, as I hid in a doorway waiting for the rain to slow down, my spirits were somewhat lifted watching the waiters and waitresses set up the tables and chairs at the cafes. I was hoping they knew something about the weather that I didn't.
Nope. I pressed on. Above is a shot of the Dom. Never difficult to get oriented in this city as long as you can spot the cathedral.
Wait a minute, what's this? Blue skies? Just two minutes ago I was hiding under a tree in this park waiting for the rain to ease up. The large modern building is part of the Mediapark, an area I have yet to explore.
Here's another bit of the Stadtmauer, or city wall, near Kyotostrasse and Hansaring. I haven't found much information on this site yet so if anyone knows more feel free to comment.
A little further along at Christoperstrasse you get a view of St. Gereon to the southeast (above) and the Colonius TV Tower lurking in the background to the northwest (below).
Crossing Christopherstrasse and looking again to the southeast you'll spot the Dom (above).
Our photos end here at the Hahnentorburg, the second city gate, at Rudolphplatz. This gate was often used as the ceremonial entrance by kings and emperors as they made their way to the Shrine of the Three Kings inside the Dom.
Note the rapidly approaching clouds. From here it was a bit of a scramble back to the Dom. Ceremonial it was not. I eventually made it to the Dom where it was grey and blustery. My hat was soaked. I met Her and we headed off in search of coffee and food. By the time we arrived in the Altstadt the sun was back out. This time for good. We grabbed a table outside in the sun and slowly re-energized. As far as I'm concerned, that's a Sunday morning well-spent.
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