The dying days of power hungry leftists in Germany and Canada
By Bruce Walker
web posted May 16, 2005
Watch the state elections in late May in North Rhineland -- Westphalia. As I have noted in past articles, if the Social Democrat Party loses that election to the Christian Democrat Party or is forced to enter into a coalition with the Christian Democrat Party to govern that state (and so split with the Christian Democrats representation in the Bundesrat.) The governing coalition in Schleswig-Holstein, two months ago a Social Democrat / Green Party coalition, is now a Social Democrat / Christian Democrat grand coalition.
If the Christian Democrats obtain a two-thirds majority in the Bundestrat (the upper chamber of the German Diet) then the corrupt, unpopular and anti-American government of Schroeder will be faced with an almost impossible situation in governing and, although this is treading in unfamiliar waters under the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany, Schroeder might well be forced to call early elections, almost certainly lose, and President Bush would have a head of government in Germany much more sympathetic to American policies than the SDP has been.
Interestingly, those elections would probably come about the same time as elections in another country that went out of its way to poke a finger in the eye of America when we decided to liberate Iraq: the Liberal Party minority government of Canada has faced "no confidence" votes and is pretending that these votes, called "no confidence" votes are not "no confidence" votes.
If all of this sounds like a flustered federal prosecutor deposing a sitting president, who responds to questions with answers like "It depends upon what the meaning of ‘is' is," then your political hearing is just fine. The Left, that gaggle of power-hungry pols who will do anything to hold on to power, is the same in Germany, in America and in Canada.
In a parliamentary system, unlike system of checks and balances, there is no difference between executive and legislative branches. Separation of powers, like so many hoary ideas encrusted like barnacles on political folk legend, simply is not necessary for functioning democracies. In fact, among those modern industrial with decades of successful democracy, only France has a system with a strong president like America.
What democracy does require, however, is responsibility. The same need for an up or down vote on federal judges is reflected in the need for parliamentary governments to stay in office only so long as the governing party or coalition has the confidence of the legislative assembly.
 Schroeder |
The Social Democrats have not had the confidence of the German people for a long time. When the Christian Democrats elected a new President of Germany one year ago, Chancellor Schroeder should have called for general elections: he obviously did not have a working majority in both chambers of the German parliament. Instead, he has shamelessly played for time, hoping against hope for some miracle. He is about to run out of time.
More interesting is the situation in Canada, where the Liberal and Conservative parties are running virtually even in polls, but where unfolding scandals about the prior Liberal government and the minority status of the government formed after the last general election may well lead to a Conservative victory or force the Liberals to form a grand coalition government with the Conservatives.
New governments in Germany and in Canada would make it much easier for President Bush to accomplish his goal of liberating the globe and would make it much easier to invite those nations to peacefully participate and support our efforts to make Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon and Palestine free, open, peaceful democracies.
As we win in reigning in terrorism, it is more likely that nations like China and Russia will endeavor to prevent "American hegemony" (like the "hegemony" which led the only superpower in 1945 to withdraw from Japan, create an independent, democratic Germany, liberate France and other dangerous stuff.)
Japan, Britain, Australia and Italy have been very supportive. The bad three - the three who should have acted better, but did -- have been France, Germany and Canada. France is about to vote itself out of a United Europe, going it alone. Germany and Canada may well have much friendlier governments soon. The good guys are winning. 
Bruce Walker is a contributing editor with Enter Stage Right. He is also a frequent contributor to The Pragmatist and The Common Conservative.
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