German elections roundup

Less than 48 hours before we know what the exit polls say, and perhaps we'll even have an idea of the result. The last polls before the election indicate a very close race. There are no last-minute polls it seems, so we won't be able to see the impact of the commotion of the last few days, with Möllemann's anti-semitic flyer and the Bush-Hitler comparison by Däubler-Gmelin. Too close to call right now, and it could swing either way.

The German press has been all over the Hitler comments. The editor of the newspaper in which the comments were published, said that he's "never seen anybody lie like Däubler-Gmelin," when she said she was misquoted. Handelsblatt ran an editorial with the title "Pure cold calculation," saying that these comments and Möllemann's anti-semitic comments were no accident, but a cynical calculation to get more votes. Meanwhile, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Germany's leading serious newspaper, has a few editorials on the subject. In "Altar of Power" they tear into the government's anti-American policies. Translated quotes:

The relations between Berlin and Washington have been more heavily damaged than at any time since the second world war. This has not happened by accident, but consciously and deliberate: the Schröder government has sacrificied the good relationship with America on the altar of power.

Then they continue on the relationship with the US as it is redefining its role in the world:

Foremost are characteristics, which especially in turbulent times (as after the fall of the Berlin Wall) are of paramount importance: reliability, trustworthiness and -- yes, friendship too. The Chancellor has squandered something that had been built up over the course of decades, and that will be hard to regain.

Although the Frankfurter Allgemeine has always been a right-of-center paper, the strength of these editiorials indicates that there might be something of a backlash against the anti-Americanism of the election campaign. But the opposition, led by Edmund Stoiber, is also to blame for the prevailing atmosphere. Instead of taking on the anti-American forces head-on, he has instead pandered to them. With nobody taking a lead, it is not surprising that public opinion has drifted so far off track. This is a far cry from the days of Helmut Kohl and Franz-Josef Strauss, who in the 80s stood steadfast at America's side during the cold war. They both had their problems too, but I suspect they would have taken a stronger line against the left's America-bashing. I still remember Kohl in a TV debate or interview, many many years ago, putting down an pacifist idiot of the left by contemptuously denigrating his "primitive anti-Americanism."

The current leadership of both the SPD and the Greens stems from the decades of anti-American protests, especially in the "peace movement" which protested against the stationing of American cruise missiles and Pershing II's in Germany. The current German government consists of quite unwholesome people, who chose the side of the Soviet Union during the cold war. The loathsome foreign minister, Joshka Fischer, was engaged in violent protests in the late 60's and early 70's. Otto Schily, the interior minister, was the lawyer who defended in court the terrorists of the Rote Armee Fraktion.

What is really galling though is that not only did these people choose to side with the Evil Empire, and were subsequently shown to be on the wrong side of history and humanity, they never even bothered to apologize for their past support of brutal totalitarian dictatiorships. And they now run the country.