02.10.2005 12:53

I am a bit late. like allways. But of all possible coalitions that were discussed after the elections in Germany, my favourite was Jamaica. (My all favourite would be Green/Liberals only.) I really thought, it was a real possibiliy. Though now I must admit, I was mistaken. I think that all three parties involved, discussed it from the beginning only due to some tactical reasons. For the CDU it was to demonstrate that they did not depend on the SPD, the same for the Green. For the FDP most probabely it was kind of, wanting to get to power, now that they are the 3 largest party, so Jamaica being the only possibility once the excluded a "Ampel". Also the exclusion of the Ampel, I think was pure personal antipathy.
Me, I did not believe, there really is such large a division between the Green and the CDU. That the Christian Democrats really believe that those Green are the final doom of civilisation (from a moral point of view). But apparently it seems that these two groups have never talked to each other before not even privately. They only heard the voices of the oponents in debates in the Bundestag and think whatever they say must be bad a priori. Politicians in this country really seem to stay with their party mates only. Me I think there are a lot of topics that the Green and the FDP or even the Green and the CDU have in common, take the Liberals and the Green: Civil rights, minority rights, economics (I believe it's pure superstition that ecology is opposed to a prosperous economy. Ecology can boost new technologies, and it also favours local substructures. Of course, I also believe that Germans focus far too much on their classical big tycoons like Siemens, VW, for them ecology is a mean of being less able to exploit, whatever they want to exploit, nature, people, the state etc. But anyway I am convinced that it is the small companies who make an economy running, they do provide much more employments, if you sum them up, they have a relation to the place where they produce and to the people working for them. Their bosses have a much personal involvmement in their firm, far exceeding the wish to make as much money as possible, its their life they risk with it and large amount of heartblood they put in).
Also the Green and the Christian Democrats: The same economical reasons. Furthermore it's perfectly sound to be conservative, but still care about ecology, because you do want to preserve the nature you live in.
There are some things you do have to give up, Atomausstieg, Gay marriage, Blindly following the US.
But Atomausstieg, really it's not so important, as long as you control those power plants efficiently, you can take your time. Gay marriage, it's ridiculous anybody thinks that's a problem at all, but maybe even the CDU gets there in slow steps, blindly following the US, who wants this anyway?
Certainly due to my personal opinions a believe that the Green should not give in too much to the CDU. And I also think that Guido Westerwelle has not studied history and does not know what "liberal" means. So given the situation I am happy with there being no Jamaica coalition.
It's incredible how different German seems to be from Swiss politics. In Switzerland, at least traditionally, everybody speaks to everybody, there can be alliances crossing party lines. Whereas here in Germany loyalty to your party seems to be unconditional.In Switzerland you are allowed to have a different view than your party has and even allowed to say it. If not then there is a law forbidding it. (Like for instance the "Kollegialitaetsprinzip" thing that as a member of the government, you have to speak out in favour of the governments opinion even if it's opposed to your personal view.) If there are discussion going on within a German party, this has a negative influence on the party's credit, they have to behave as a monolithic block. If you don't your career will become very difficult. That's why there is effectively a "Fraktionszwang" in the Bundestag, even though it's illegal. I sometimes very much think that this is one of the major reasons, why nothing ever happens here. Politicians are having fights against each other eternally. They think politics is all about bringing you party to power and staying in power and not about problems of the country you have to solve.
To make life "besser fuer die Menschen in Deutschland."