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| 'I will eat my hat if Merkel doesn't win': readers on the German election | 'I will eat my hat if Merkel doesn't win': readers on the German election |
| (4 months later) | |
| Guardian readers in Germany weigh up their votes in a general election seen as Angela Merkel’s to lose | |
| Guardian readers and | |
| James Walsh | |
| Fri 15 Sep 2017 07.30 BST | |
| Last modified on Fri 15 Sep 2017 07.31 BST | |
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| German voters are hoping for business as usual after September’s general election, according to readers who responded to a Guardian callout. | German voters are hoping for business as usual after September’s general election, according to readers who responded to a Guardian callout. |
| Angela Merkel’s party, the Christian Democratic Union, is widely expected to win, and we found support for a CDU-FDP-Green “Jamaica” coalition. Strikingly, even those planning to vote for alternative parties paid tribute to Merkel as a reassuring, safe pairs of hands as chancellor. | Angela Merkel’s party, the Christian Democratic Union, is widely expected to win, and we found support for a CDU-FDP-Green “Jamaica” coalition. Strikingly, even those planning to vote for alternative parties paid tribute to Merkel as a reassuring, safe pairs of hands as chancellor. |
| “In trying times, a change of leadership is always a risk. Right now, with Merkel’s administration working largely well, it is not a risk worth taking,” said Martin Richter, 32, in Berlin, who is voting for the CDU. | “In trying times, a change of leadership is always a risk. Right now, with Merkel’s administration working largely well, it is not a risk worth taking,” said Martin Richter, 32, in Berlin, who is voting for the CDU. |
| Below, we share a selection of views from our readers. | Below, we share a selection of views from our readers. |
| ‘The other parties haven’t put forward a viable alternative’ | ‘The other parties haven’t put forward a viable alternative’ |
| Olaf Wonter, 40, Hamburg. Leaning towards: Christian Democratic Union | Olaf Wonter, 40, Hamburg. Leaning towards: Christian Democratic Union |
| I am not a traditional CDU voter but considering the other parties have put forth no viable alternative, I will vote for Angela Merkel. She is level-headed, extremely intelligent, has clear policy views but can be consensual and, internationally, she portrays an image that corresponds with what modern Germany is actually about. | I am not a traditional CDU voter but considering the other parties have put forth no viable alternative, I will vote for Angela Merkel. She is level-headed, extremely intelligent, has clear policy views but can be consensual and, internationally, she portrays an image that corresponds with what modern Germany is actually about. |
| What’s more, she is the only Western leader who can deal with Mr Putin. She takes governing seriously and it is obviously done for the best interest of Germany and not for her own interests - which multi-millionaire’s private yacht have you seen her vacationing on? | What’s more, she is the only Western leader who can deal with Mr Putin. She takes governing seriously and it is obviously done for the best interest of Germany and not for her own interests - which multi-millionaire’s private yacht have you seen her vacationing on? |
| ‘The SPD have been too similar to the CDU’ | ‘The SPD have been too similar to the CDU’ |
| Alex Jakob, 35, teacher, Paderborn. Leaning towards: The Left | Alex Jakob, 35, teacher, Paderborn. Leaning towards: The Left |
| I’m left-wing and would like to vote SPD as the traditional working class party but for a long time now they have been far too centrist and too similar to the CDU. | I’m left-wing and would like to vote SPD as the traditional working class party but for a long time now they have been far too centrist and too similar to the CDU. |
| I chose Die Linke as Sahra Wagenknecht has been extremely convincing, eloquent and well-informed during the election campaign. She’s passionate about the same issues I feel passionate about and it shows. She comes across as intelligent rather than slick or smug. | I chose Die Linke as Sahra Wagenknecht has been extremely convincing, eloquent and well-informed during the election campaign. She’s passionate about the same issues I feel passionate about and it shows. She comes across as intelligent rather than slick or smug. |
| I would never vote for the CDU as they are a socially conservative party for people with money, but on the world stage Merkel has done relatively well and in these uncertain times it might not even be bad to hold on to her. Her compassion towards the refugees and her decision to keep open our borders when nobody else would help speaks to her principles and conscience which I respect. | I would never vote for the CDU as they are a socially conservative party for people with money, but on the world stage Merkel has done relatively well and in these uncertain times it might not even be bad to hold on to her. Her compassion towards the refugees and her decision to keep open our borders when nobody else would help speaks to her principles and conscience which I respect. |
| ‘Some don’t remember a time before Merkel was in power’ | ‘Some don’t remember a time before Merkel was in power’ |
| Milena Wein, 20, student, Leipzig. Leaning towards: Alliance 90 / The Greens | Milena Wein, 20, student, Leipzig. Leaning towards: Alliance 90 / The Greens |
| As someone who cares about social justice and animal rights, I am backing the Green Party. It is going to be the first time that I’m allowed to vote in national elections and I have informed myself about the different programs and candidates. | As someone who cares about social justice and animal rights, I am backing the Green Party. It is going to be the first time that I’m allowed to vote in national elections and I have informed myself about the different programs and candidates. |
| German politics needs to be less concerned with our already highly successful economy but with the price we have paid to keep said economy running - lower wages, temporary employment and of course industrial pollution. Just reading the news about the natural disasters in the United States reminds me why it is necessary to change as soon as possible. | German politics needs to be less concerned with our already highly successful economy but with the price we have paid to keep said economy running - lower wages, temporary employment and of course industrial pollution. Just reading the news about the natural disasters in the United States reminds me why it is necessary to change as soon as possible. |
| I don’t think that my vote will change anything. Most people are happy with the way Merkel has governed the country, some - like me - don’t even remember a time before she came into power. Her clever way of changing her political stance everytime it becomes unpopular has proven to be very efficient. Nobody really knows what Merkel stands for - you can project everything onto her. | I don’t think that my vote will change anything. Most people are happy with the way Merkel has governed the country, some - like me - don’t even remember a time before she came into power. Her clever way of changing her political stance everytime it becomes unpopular has proven to be very efficient. Nobody really knows what Merkel stands for - you can project everything onto her. |
| ‘I trust Merkel’s pragmatism over party ideology’ | ‘I trust Merkel’s pragmatism over party ideology’ |
| Will, 32, Berlin. Leaning towards: Christian Democratic Union | Will, 32, Berlin. Leaning towards: Christian Democratic Union |
| I’m not backing the CDU. It’s about Merkel. They are not the same thing. I’ve always been a green voter up until now and the thought of going conservative this time makes me cringe. But then I remind myself that in actuality I’m not. Merkel is not a conservative, center-right-left or anything. She just is. | I’m not backing the CDU. It’s about Merkel. They are not the same thing. I’ve always been a green voter up until now and the thought of going conservative this time makes me cringe. But then I remind myself that in actuality I’m not. Merkel is not a conservative, center-right-left or anything. She just is. |
| The Greens are busy fighting amongst themselves and trying to be an all-issues party when they just should be about the environment and human rights. They appeal to no one because they want to appeal to everyone. | The Greens are busy fighting amongst themselves and trying to be an all-issues party when they just should be about the environment and human rights. They appeal to no one because they want to appeal to everyone. |
| Ever since I turned 30 I suddenly found voting for personalities and “leadership styles” more appealing than voting for parties. And in my opinion, Merkel’s spur-of-the-moment pragmatism is something that I trust more than any party ideology. | Ever since I turned 30 I suddenly found voting for personalities and “leadership styles” more appealing than voting for parties. And in my opinion, Merkel’s spur-of-the-moment pragmatism is something that I trust more than any party ideology. |
| ‘The air is ripe with inevitability’ | ‘The air is ripe with inevitability’ |
| Felix Powell, 23, Berlin. Leaning towards: Social Democrats | Felix Powell, 23, Berlin. Leaning towards: Social Democrats |
| I have been living in Berlin for 6 months after studying for 4 years in Manchester - I have dual British and German citizenship and I am looking forward to voting in my second national election inside one year. | I have been living in Berlin for 6 months after studying for 4 years in Manchester - I have dual British and German citizenship and I am looking forward to voting in my second national election inside one year. |
| I am a member of the Labour Party in the UK and feel inclined towards parties of the same ilk in the lead up to the election in Germany. This will ultimately mean voting for the SPD, though it is with slight hesitation. Martin Schultz’s inability to differentiate the SPD as a true alternative to Merkel’s CDU had led me to consider a protest vote in the form of Die Linke. | I am a member of the Labour Party in the UK and feel inclined towards parties of the same ilk in the lead up to the election in Germany. This will ultimately mean voting for the SPD, though it is with slight hesitation. Martin Schultz’s inability to differentiate the SPD as a true alternative to Merkel’s CDU had led me to consider a protest vote in the form of Die Linke. |
| With Trump in the White House, Brexit in motion and Theresa May ‘losing’ an election in which she was always meant to bulldoze her enemies off of the electoral map, anything is possible. Having said this, anything other than a Merkel victory and I will happily eat my hat. The air is ripe with inevitability in Germany and no one here sees Angela doing a ‘Theresa’ by losing a 13 point lead. | With Trump in the White House, Brexit in motion and Theresa May ‘losing’ an election in which she was always meant to bulldoze her enemies off of the electoral map, anything is possible. Having said this, anything other than a Merkel victory and I will happily eat my hat. The air is ripe with inevitability in Germany and no one here sees Angela doing a ‘Theresa’ by losing a 13 point lead. |
| Germany | |
| Europe | |
| Angela Merkel | |
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