Comment on US Democracy
MacNCheezus@lemmy.today 1 month agoWhile there technically might be more choices available in other places (for instance, in Germany there’s usually at least 2-3 smaller parties that have a legitimate chance to make it into the Bundestag), de facto it still boils down to the two major parties (conservatives and social democrats) duking it out amongst themselves, and voting 3rd party is merely a matter of choosing who their junior partner will be. It might help sway the resulting coalition’s direction on some minor issues but the overall direction is still very much decided by the 500 lbs gorilla.
Noel_Skum@sh.itjust.works 1 month ago
Someone downvoted you for spitting facts? Interesting. The two US parties are both right of centre, which gives an immediate imbalance. Small parties can have some bearing on their senior partners policies, like you say. I’m assuming Germany has local elections, mayoral elections etc. surely some of the smaller, more niche parties, pick up seats in those if they happen. Trends identified by smaller parties will get picked up by bigger parties, so they serve their worth there, too.
MacNCheezus@lemmy.today 2 weeks ago
Certainly not the first time this has happened.
Noel_Skum@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
It’s wild. No matter how fond you might be of your opinion you’ve got to kick it to the curb when facts unravel it.
MacNCheezus@lemmy.today 2 weeks ago
Keep that in mind for when they come after your own sacred cows.
superkret@feddit.org 1 month ago
Results of the last German Federal election:
Image
It’s really not 2 major parties and their junior partners anymore.
Noel_Skum@sh.itjust.works 1 month ago
Nice. I was hoping it might look a bit like this. Thanks for researching / posting.
superkret@feddit.org 1 month ago
Unfortunately, the day after Trump was elected, coalition talks between the non-nazi parties in Saxony, a German state, failed. Which means there is no likely way to build a government coalition without a re-election or admittting the far right party in that state now.
And the day after that, the center-left federal government coalition broke apart, leaving it without a majority, which will trigger an early federal election next year.
And with current sentiments, the result of that election will likely pose the exact same problem Saxony now has, but for all of Germany.