Tuesday, September 25, 2018

German Coalition Government

We all try to have simplified narratives about other countries, so that we can put them aside without taking up too much space in our heads. Concerning Germany, I think the liberal narrative is that it is one of those beacons of Western European culture, with lots of gentle socialism and great medical care, properly green, very open to gays and talking about sex, and suspicious of god-botherers in general.  The downside, in their eyes, is that they seem to have these leftover nazis who are getting upset and violent about immigrants.  The conservative narrative is that the place is becoming overrun with immigrants, leading to the rise of right-wing parties that aren't quite the same as our right-wing parties.  The ruling parties over the last few decades have been squishes about preserving Western culture and reluctant to crack down on immigrant criminals.

Well, I don't know myself, it's just what I've heard. In the spirit of learning more, albeit from one POV, I pass along this analysis of the forming of coalition governments in Germany.

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