Yippeeeee!!! Schroeder RAUS!

It was like a dream...We awoke to the gentle murmurings of Morning Edition with the news that the Social Democrats had suffered a resounding defeat in North Rhein-Westphalia.  We thought, "We're still asleep...NPR announcing good news...can't be...Schroeder's out... (orchestra swells)

Somewhere over the rainbow
Way up high
There's a land that I heard of
Once in a lullaby

Somewhere over the rainbow
Skies are blue
And the dreams that you dare to dream
Really do come true"

The results of the North Rhine-Westphalia region "bellwether" elections are in! Gerhard Schroeder's Social Democrats have lost there for the first time since 1966.  The German people have finally said "Four decades of idiocy is enough!"  and voted in the Christian Democrats by an eight point margin.  For those who are unfamiliar with German geography, North Rhein-Westphalia is a densely populated region that includes the major cities of Cologne, Dusseldorf, Essen, Bonn, and the felicitously-named Wuppertal.  Schroeder, for his part, has gone for the "loser's coup" by calling for national elections a year ahead of schedule to keep the Christian Democrats from organizing during the next year. 

The Germans are finally voting for their pocketbooks.  German stocks actually rose with the news that there would be early elections that will surely give Mr. Schroeder the gate.  At 13% unemployment, the German economy is a very poor example of how fabulous Socialism is for Europe.  This from The New Republic, via quidnunc (no relation) on Free Republic:

Both friends and enemies regard Schröder as an enormously skillful and ruthless politician, so it's been no surprise to see his party's leadership take a sharp populist turn over the last few weeks, lashing out at "international capital" and the "Anglo-Saxon" business model as a threat to the German social system. In some ways it's a repeat performance of his 2002 federal election strategy, in which to save his post he demonized Bush on Iraq and all but tanked U.S.-German relations.

The Washington Times has an overview of the political situation in Germany here. David's Medienkritik blogs about news coverage in Germany here.

Comments

[Vie]

Westphalia finally is the best of all possible worlds.