The editor would like to thank all involved for their time and effort on this edition of The Voice.

The opinions expressed in any Sweet Briar College publication or other forms of media are not necessarily those of the students, faculty, staff or administration. Therefore, Sweet Briar College is not responsible for its content.

Editorials represent the opinion(s) of the editor(s) and/or staff/guest writer(s).

This site was designed and is maintained by Caroline Baxley. Please email any questions or comments concerning the web site to her.

Cheap beer and politics: two crippling spheres of Americanization
By Janika Carey ’07
STAFF WRITER

This is nuts! Only six months after I left Germany for America, my country is being Americanized.

You mean, by McDonalds and Baseball and stuff? (My friend Bob doesn’t know much about the world outside of Virginia, but he’s a good guy. Every once in a while, he buys us some Bud light—which, being German, I can only despise—and I tell him about my country.)

No, Americanized by politics. After suffering under paralyzing conservatism (with CDU-chancellor Helmut Kohl, who earned his reputation because he happened to be part of the whole reunification thing) for the first 16 years of my life, I have only witnessed one big political change: in 1998, the SPD (Social Democrats) took over and Gerhard Schroeder became chancellor. It was liberating for me and many of my friends, and we believed the world was going to be a better place.

Seven years later, Schroeder announced re-elections. His drastic job reforms had brought only more unemployment, and the debt leftovers from the CDU (Christian Democratic Union) were still left over. East Germany’s “blooming landscapes” Kohl had once promised were still lifeless concrete ghettos, a breeding ground for unemployment and racism. It was all a big disaster. SPD-members started protesting. Some turned towards their leftist roots and left the party. Others, like my gay friend Daniel, developed a strange affection for their conservative side (though after he discovered that men kissing other men at the CDU-election party is a big no-no, he is now considering switching parties again). This September, an overwhelming majority voted for a new government. Pollsters had predicted a landfall victory for the CDU, led by candidate Angela Merkel, who spent most of her career as the target of comedy shows. Schroeder was definitely the more serious candidate, but people wanted to get rid of his reforms.

Sounds like people didn’t like either one! That’s right. But this is where the German electoral system comes handy: if you can’t decide, don’t worry! Germans have two votes: one goes to a party representative of their county, the other one directly to a party. The result was a fair compromise: the CDU beat the SPD by only 1 %. What now? Both parties claim to be the winner, although 30 % of Germans voted against them!

So? More than 50 % didn’t vote for President Bush, right? Well . . . I guess. But this is different. In Germany, a party has to have a clear majority. The only possibility seems to be a big coalition of CDU and SPD, meaning that Germany will see its first female chancellor. - Which would only be fair, since she got an overwhelming 1 percent more votes! Come on, if this was America, the Christian Democrats would just pay a judge to legalize their victory, right?

I guess...? But this is not America, so the debate continues, even to the point where Merkel’s own party doesn’t fully support her anymore. And while Germany is still waiting for Schroeder to accept Merkel’s victory, the SPD is holding on to its hero like Kate Winslet to Leonardo di Caprio in “Titanic.” The point is: if Schroeder can’t be chancellor, he will retire, and the SPD will lose its leader. But maybe that’s a good thing. What Germany needs is team-workers, not power-maniacs. Hopefully, the fact that SPD and CDU will hold the same number of ministers in the cabinet can prevent damage, like the end of Germany’s social system. Up to this point, Germany has had a health system that covers everybody. Unlike America, even the poorest can afford to see a doctor if they need to. That might change. Merkel’s plan is to set up a fixed amount of insurance everybody has to pay, regardless of income. That’s not exactly like America, but it all boils down to the same result: some people, maybe a lot of people, will not have insurance.

Making things worse seems to be Merkel’s major goal. Another step in her efforts to Americanize Germany is that she wants to make it easier for companies to fire people. Part of Germany’s idea of fairness and equality is that workers are protected by law not to lose their jobs. Another problem about Merkel is her creepy friendship with President Bush. After Schroeder had refused to send troops to Iraq, Merkel called the president to tell him that she, of course, was on his side and that she was sorry about the chancellor’s bad behavior.

What a b...! Yeah, this would have been the perfect moment for her to join the American troops. If there is one thing that unites Germans, it is that we don’t exactly sympathize with President Bush. Another thing is that nobody wants to see German soldiers in Iraq. Shortly before the elections, Merkel assured the country that her party was not going to send German troops to Iraq. She might have won a few votes by doing that, but what will happen after the election? What will happen if she really becomes chancellor? Will insanity come over Germany, too? There is reason to believe that Merkel got some of her bright ideas from American politics, so hopefully someone will cut the phone lines to the White House. In the meantime, I am hoping for intelligence, and for cooperation. Maybe the majority of a big coalition will finally bring progress, and maybe the world will be a better place.

Maybe. (Bob orders another Bud Light. Weird, but I'm starting to actually like it...)