Angela Merkel FDP Win: Germany Votes "Center Right"

After 11 years, Germans gave took power away from the Socialist Democrat Party. At a time when President Barack Obama and his minions are yearning for collectivism, socialism and depths of liberalism that Americans have never known or wanted, Germany heads in a new direction with plans to lower taxes and speed-up free market investment.

Angela Merkel

Since 2004, Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and sister-party, the conservative Bavarian Christian Socialist Union (CSU) shared power with the Social Democrats, in a coalition known as the "Grand Coalition." It was not so "grand." This time, Merkel actually moved her agenda slightly to the left to attract both pro-business and worker interest.

We have achieved something great," Mrs Merkel told supporters on Sunday night. "We have managed to achieve our election aim of a stable majority in Germany for a new government."

It is believed Merkel's new coalition with small government The Free Democrat Party (FDP) has made some promises that may be difficult to keep:

...protect the country's "social market economy" with its mix of capitalism, regulation and a strong social safety net.

Nevertheless, the FDP received about 14.6 percent of the vote - the highest in it's history. Guido Westerwelle, the FDB leader may be pegged as Vice Chancellor: The FDP is also expected to win the post of foreign minister, which would likely continue a strong relationship with the U.S. and push for a key economic position, such as finance minister or economy minister, in order to push its tax-cutting agenda.

On Sunday night, Mr. Westerwelle told cheering supporters at a rally in Berlin that he would push for "a fair tax system," with radically simpler tax laws as well as lower income-tax rates.

In the meantime, Social Democratic Party (SDP) supporters are in a state of shock with their worst parliamentary showing since the WWII:

...its lowest result in a national election since the fall of the Weimar Republic in 1933, highlighting the decline of one of Europe's oldest parties and a longtime pillar of German democracy. "There's no getting around it. This is a bitter day for Germany's Social Democrats," said Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the SPD's heavily defeated candidate for chancellor.

Ironically, it seems the SDP took a few bold, decidedly non-socialist and unpopular steps before Merkel came into office:

Under Chancellor Schröder, an SPD-Green government tried to modernize Germany's stagnating economy with major overhauls including slashing long-term jobless benefits. The changes helped to bring down German unemployment to around 3.5 million today from five million in 2005, but they also undermined the SPD's popularity.

It's a sticky venture - that of trying to promote capitalism yet keep socialism alive. By God's grace, may we never go there. Read this blog post from geeeeeZ! who speaks from some inside information.