I voted in Germany's general election yesterday. Here, the FT's Quentin Peel reflects on the outcome (of the general election, not my vote). Of course, I am way too much of an economist to reveal the choice I have made, and I am not inclined to turn this blog into a political forum. Hence, I will not discuss economic policy.
I simply want to point out that Germany is now likely to be the socially most progressive and liberal country in the world. Three important indicators support this hypothesis:
1. Federal Chancellor will be Angela Merkel (in the job since 2005), who is a woman.
2. Vice Chancellor and Foreign Minister will be Guido Westerwelle, who is openly gay.
3. The Pirate Party received a sensational 2% of the vote.
As a long-time supporter of women- and gay-rights (and internet freedom), I am rather pleased with all this. I recommend Mr. Westerwelle to wear this T-Shirt should he ever encounter a member of Iran's homicidal leadership on official mission.
Not sure I agree with you. I'd say Portugal is certainly more liberal than Germany.
The same day as Angela was reelected chancellor, the Portuguese PM, Socrates, was also reelected. He has recently been proven to be a cheat and corrupted. Meanwhile the whole political class is still knee-deep in the infamous Casa Pia case.
Which shows that Portugal:
- favours forgiveness over punishment,
- approves of non-normalize curricula (Socrates has lied over him having an engineer degree),
- accept sexual practices that are condemned elsewhere.
Who's liberal now?
Posted by: Ben | September 29, 2009 at 09:36 AM
Yes, Juju, what a great post! All the best and see you soon!
Posted by: Lucien | September 29, 2009 at 12:45 AM