Europe Examines Ways to Quell Its Debt Crisis

Fears over the European financial crisis began to spread Tuesday from the weaker countries to healthier ones, including Italy and Belgium, and even much stronger Germany, spurring a stepped up search for a solution to the economic problems putting a strain on Europe's decade-old monetary union.

It's quite refreshing to see that general elections in a big democracy can be held off without a giant media frenzy, trillions of dollars being hurled around and mud being slung from all sides. Headlines hardly made it across the border to Switzerland and the one and only TV debate between the two main candidates was appropriately titled 'yes we gähn!' (yes we yawn!) by a large German newspaper.

 MrsHobieJoe wrote: 
Very uncharacteristic of me, but I haven't cared too much for this election at all.

It was clear before it even started that the major parties (in a "grand coalition") would invariably lose out to the minor parties. It is a little surprising that this swung more against the SPD (labour party) than the CDU (center right) who now have a majority with the FDP (neo-conservatives).

So the traditional left-wing party is in a state of crisis trying to analyze what went wrong but if you take the bigger picture the left did not actually do too badly. The trouble in Germany is that the radical left (actually not at all radical but they grew out of the communist party of East Germany) is still not acceptable to anybody (not even the SPD) and is off limits for building a coalition, so that really weakens the SPD. Not their fault.

Personally, I think it is still all a bit ho hum. I'll be interested to see how the neo cons want to introduce tax cuts when the budget is looking so disastrous in light of the recent crisis. I think they will have their hands pretty firmly tied. Personally I can't say I wouldn't say no to a tax cut.

In the distant future I see the greens slowly rising to take leadership of the left wing and possibly extending a welcome to the Linke (former GDR communists) to form a government one day. Might take a while though.

There, does that sound boring enough for you?

What's the take in Germany on the election result noenz (or anyone else who's interested)?  Not exactly a shock surprise I would assume.  We've been following a bit on Radio4 over the last couple of weeks but it's been a touch of a