In comments I was asked to write about yesterday’s elections in Germany. But I find it difficult to describe my country from its inside. There are already good reviews available and Conor Gallagher at Naked Capitalism has done a great job with this one which I highly recommend to read:
Germany Holds an Election in an Alternate Reality – Naked Capitalism, Feb 24 2025
In the alternate reality of German politics the U.S. is a friend. It did not blow up the Nord Stream pipeline and it did nothing to provoke the proxy war with Russia. In the alternate reality the Weakness in the German Manufacturing Sector has not been caused by it.
In the alternate reality it is all about ‘values’.
The legendary writer Billmon had named his blog Whiskey Bar. It was a reference to the Alabama Song by Berthold Brecht. When Billmon closed the comments at his site I opened this blog as an alternative. I named it Moon of Alabama in reference to the chorus of that song.
The German election has brought another Brecht opera to my mind.
Living in their alternate reality the ruling parties in Germany have forgotten that “Fressen” (Engl.: guzzling, seizure, scoring) comes before “Moral” (Engl.: ethics, morale, values).
The voters have honored that by looking and voting for ‘alternatives’:
Berhold Brecht, Dreigroschenoper, NR. 15. ZWEITES DREIGROSCHEN-FINALE.
MAC – Ihr Herrn, die ihr uns lehrt, wie man brav leben
Und Sünd’ und Missetat vermeiden kann,
Zuerst müßt ihr uns was zu fressen geben,
Dann könnt ihr reden: Damit fängt es an.
Ihr, die ihr euren Wanst und uns’re Bravheit liebt,
Das eine wisset ein für allemal:
Wie ihr es immer dreht und wie ihr’s immer schiebt,
Erst kommt das Fressen, dann kommt die Moral.
Erst muß es möglich sein auch armen Leuten,
Vom großen Brotlaib sich ihr Teil zu schneiden.
HINTER DER SZENE – Denn wovon lebt der Mensch?
Berhold Brecht, Three-Penny Opera, 15th ACT, II FINALE
M. – You gentlemen preach to us that honesty is the best policy.
Stay clear of sin and crookedness, you say.
First tell us how to fill our stomachs,
then you can talk, that’s how to begin.
You who have a great time getting fat while we stay honest,
learn a lesson, once and for all;
no matter how you twist and turn, no matter what you’re shooting at,
first come the eats and then the moralizing.
First the people who have nothing
must get a slice of your loaf of bread.
CROWD — On what does a person live?
I have voted for the BSW, the new party of the ‘conservative socialist’ Sarah Wagenknecht. In my view it is the only party which has understood Brecht’s warning to the rulers: Pragmatism, here: bread through peace with Russia and migration limits, must come first; before all appeals to abstract ‘values’, ethics and morale.
The still very young BSW party has received 4.97% of all votes. 13,500 votes less than needed to take the 5% hurdle and seats in the parliament. That is unfortunate but there are reasons for it:
[T]he BSW was caught off guard by the snap election. The party lacked local infrastructure and was short on cash for the campaign. It was forced to hurriedly register regional branches in order to participate in the national election.
I am optimistic that the party will continue to grow as it is currently the only real alternative in German politics.
As for other parties: The Alternative für Deutschland, AfD, was the clear winner in these elections. It was often described as ‘hard-right’ and even compared to fascism. That has created a kind of Streisand effect and allowed for its growth. But its program and ideas remind one of the conservative Christian Democrats during the 1980s. It is avidly pro-capitalist and pro-American but, inconsistently, also pro-Russian. That has helped it win in eastern Germany.
The center-left Social Democrats were the biggest losers in these election. It is the first time since 1887(!) that it is not the number one or number two party in Germany but had to take the third place. But it is still highly likely that it will govern again as the junior partner of the Christian Democrats.
Proportional voting in Germany (no ‘first past the post’) pretty much guarantees that all German governments are based on coalitions. The need to compromise prevents radical outcomes. It leads to policies of muddling through issues rather than resolving them.
That’s not a good outlook for Germany but we will have to, again, live with it.
On a positive note: 100% of the 50 million votes, all on paper ballots, were counted within 8 hours. There was no strife.
