Germany will be having a general election in September and campaigning is in full swing. The relation between politicians and the truth becomes ever more tenuous. Two examples:
1. German troops have been involved in Afghanistan for the past 7 years. The growing power and aggressiveness of the Taliban, even in quieter Northern Afghanistan where the Germans are based, have lead to an increase in the numbers of soldiers being killed. It isn't making the German military presence in Afghanistan more popular at home. The German defence minister is steadfastly refusing to call the situation a "war", primarily because he's afraid that this would have a negative effect on his party, the Christian Democrats, in the coming election. The trauma of WWII is still very deep in the German psyche, and the idea of Germany being involved in a war is simply anathema to many. 2. Both the Christian Democrats (under Merkel) and the Liberals - both of whom hope to form a coalition together after the election - have categorically ruled out any possibility of tax-hikes after the election, even though Germany's budget defecit has been rising sharply as a result of measures to combat the financial crisis. Polls suggest that 78% of the electorate don't believe this promise - indeed, almost half believe that some tax increases are both necessary and inevitable in the next four years. The most amazing thing is that this is having no effect on their voting intentions - it looks like the CDU and the Liberals (FDP) are going to win. So ... the electorate doesn't believe what the politicians are saying and will vote for them anyway. What a sad mixture of helplessness and resignation! Or is it true that a country gets the politicians it deserves? Francis --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""Minds Eye"" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Minds-Eye?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
