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Wednesday, October 23, 2013

German Parliament Holds First Meeting Since Election Tuesday Oct 22,2013



The German Parliament met on Tuesday Oct 22,2013 for the first time since last month’s general election as Chancellor Angela Merkel prepared to launch talks to form a new coalition government


The main task of the lawmakers was to elect the Parliament’s new office-bearers, with the chamber’s current president Norbert Lammert, a member of Merkel’s conservative Christian Democrats (CDU), returned to the post after being backed by an overwhelming majority of parliamentarians

The CDU and its Bavarian-based associate party, the Christian Social Union, emerged as the biggest bloc in the election with 311 seats in the new Parliament.However,Angela Merkel needs a new coalition partner after falling short by a handful of seats to gain an absolute majority at the election held on Sep 22,2013 and after her previous ally, the Free Democrats (FDP), failed to be returned to Parliament

The current government continues in a caretaker role until the negotiations to form new coalition is completed

The new Bundestag, or lower house with 631 Members has a record number of women members and its first black politicians.
Women make up 36% of the new MPs, where one-third of members are new to the Bundestag.

The election produced the country's first black federal politicians, a Senegal-born chemist and the Munich-born son of a Senegalese father and German mother who is also a former actor.
 Karamba Diaby is one of two newly elected black parliamentarians


Angela  Merkel's Christian Democrats have their first Muslim politician, the German-born daughter of Turkish immigrants.Cemile Giousouf is the first Muslim parliamentarian for the Christian Democrats



Note
German Federal Election Sep 22, 2013 - Results




CDU/CSU -41.5%
SPD           -25.7%
Greens        -8.4%
FDP           -4.8%
Linke          -8.6%
AfD            -4.7%
Others        -6.3%

Parties Constituency Party list Total seats
Votes  % +/− Seats +/− Votes  % +/− Seats +/− Seats +/−  %

 CDU 16,225,769 37.2 +5.2 190 +17 14,913,921 34.1 +6.9 65 +44 255 +61 40.5

SPD 12,835,933 29.4 +1.5 59 -5 11,247,283 25.7 +2.7 133 +51 192 +46 30.5

Left(Linke) 3,583,050 8.2 -2.9 4 -12 3,752,577 8.6 -3.3 60 ±0 64 -12 10.2

Greens 3,177,269 7.3 -1.9 1 ±0 3,690,314 8.4 -2.3 62 -5 63 -5 10.0

CSU 3,543,733 8.1 +0.7 45 ±0 3,243,335 7.4 +0.9 11 +11 56 +11 8.9


FDP 1,028,322 2.4 -7.1 0 ±0 2,082,305 4.8 -9.8 0 -93 0 -93 0

AfD 809,817 1.9 +1.9 0 ±0 2,052,372 4.7 +4.7 0 ±0 0 ±0 0

Pirate Party (PIRATEN) 962,946 2.2 +2.1 0 ±0 958,507 2.2 +0.2 0 ±0 0 ±0 0

National Democratic Party (NPD) 634,842 1.5 −0.3 0 ±0 560,660 1.3 −0.2 0 ±0 0 ±0 0

Human Environment Animal Welfare 4,415 0.0 +0.0 0 ±0 140,251 0.3 -0.2 0 ±0 0 ±0 0

The Republicans (REP) 27,279 0.1 ±0.0 0 ±0 91,660 0.2 −0.2 0 ±0 0 ±0 0

Ecological Democratic Party (ödp) 128,158 0.3 ±0.0 0 ±0 127,085 0.3 ±0.0 0 ±0 0 ±0 0

Family Party (FAMILIE) 4,476 0.0 ±0.0 0 ±0 7,451 0.0 −0.3 0 ±0 0 ±0 0

Alliance 21/RRP 5,335 0.0 -0.1 0 ±0 8,851 0.0 -0.2 0 ±0 0 ±0 0

Pensioners' Party (RENTNER) 919 0.0 ±0 0 ±0 25,190 0.1 -0.1 0 ±0 0 ±0 0

Bavaria Party (BP) 28,336 0.1 ±0.0 0 ±0 57,285 0.1 ±0 0 ±0 0 ±0 0

Party of Bible-abiding Christians (PBC) 2,070 0.0 ±0.0 0 ±0 18,529 0.0 −0.1 0 ±0 0 ±0 0

Civil Rights Movement Solidarity (BüSo) 18,039 0.0 ±0.0 0 ±0 13,131 0.0 -0.1 0 ±0 0 ±0 0

The Violets – for Spiritual Politics (DIE VIOLETTEN) 2,500 0.0 ±0.0 0 ±0 8,248 0.0 -0.1 0 ±0 0 ±0 0

Marxist Leninist Party (MLPD) 12,986 0.0 ±0.0 0 ±0 25,336 0.1 ±0.0 0 ±0 0 ±0 0

Alliance for Germany (Volksabstimmung) 1,748 0.0 ±0 0 ±0 28,667 0.1 ±0 0 ±0 0 ±0 0

Social Equality Party (PSG) 4,840 0.0 ±0 0 ±0 0 ±0 0

Electoral groups and independents 131,873 0.3 ±0 0 ±0 143,462 0.3 ±0 0 ±0 0 ±0 0
Total valid 43,601,224 98.4 +0.2 299 ±0 43,702,474 98.7 +0.1 331 +8 630 +8 ±0
Invalid ballots 688,428 1.6 -0.1

587,178 1.3 -0.1




Total (turnout: 71.5%) 44,289,652 100.0


44,289,652 100.0







The Christian Democratic Union(CDU)and the Christian Social Union of Bavaria(CSU) got their best result since the 1990 election and fell just 5 seats short of an outright majority, something that has only been accomplished once, in 1957

The CDU/CSU bloc took about 41.5% of the vote - but FDP won only 4.8% and failed to make it to the parliament.The FDP was beaten by the Green Party (8.4%) and the former communist Left Party (8.6%). It almost finished behind the new Alternative fuer Deutschland (AfD), which advocates withdrawal from the euro currency and took 4.7%, just short of the parliamentary threshold.

As a result, the CDU/CSU will have to turn to the main opposition party Social Democrats(SPD) to form a  grand coalition as these parties have done in the past

Also a left-wing coalition Govt of the SDP, Greens and the Left is possible and command a slim majority

Angela Merkel wins German federal election, will remain Chancellor. Coalition partner uncertain.


More than 3 years into the European Union’s worst ever nightmare, Merkel, uniquely in the Eurozone, has been hugely rewarded for her handling of the currency and sovereign debt crisis. Everywhere else voters have punished Govts.
Her victory demonstrates the gulf between Germany and the rest of the EU and the Eurozone

Her victory, with an increased share of the vote for her Christian democrats than in 2009 no less, will vindicate her confidence in the way she has dealt with the euro challenge


Angela Merkel, the daughter of a Protestant pastor who grew up behind the Iron curtain in East Germany, is the third post-war chancellor to win three elections, after Adenauer and her mentor Helmut Kohl

Angela Merkel is one of the few European leaders to survive the debt crisis, which has seen 19 of her EU peers lose their jobs since the start of 2010.


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