It’s Election Season in Germany. No Charisma, Please!
The article from the N.Y. Times is about the upcoming election in Germany and the top candidates for the chancellor position. It also tries to explain and answer a question asked at the beginning of the article, namely if this would be the “most boring election ever.”
After Angela Merkel’s 16-year period as Germany’s chancellor, it’s time for the people to elect someone new. The two main candidates for this election are from the two governing parties. Both candidates are rather calm and collected, as they are trying to “channel their inner Merkel”. On one side there is Olaf Scholz from the Social Democrats, who is also the vice-chancellor under Angela Merkel. On the other side, there is Armin Laschet, who is the candidate for Merkel’s Christian Democrats.
While the article describes both main chancellor candidates, it also briefly mentions a third candidate, Annalena Baerbock, from the Green Party in Germany. However, she hasn’t been very strong in the latest polls, which is why the article mainly focuses on the two main candidates. It describes the two men as rather “boring” and also mentions that the public is missing a “sense of urgency” from both main candidates in times of multiple crises.
In general, the article also explains why Germany’s voters like candidates, similar to the two main ones and why “a Trump character could never become chancellor” in Germany. The German election system is different from the American system and usually, there are always more than two governing parties. This doesn’t allow for a lot of rudeness towards other candidates during the election campaigns, as the closest competitor could become an important coalition partner after the election. In the end, the article also quotes a famous German comedian. He called out both chancellor candidates for not communicating a clear political vision. With this, he wants to urge them to get away from the political “boringness” and change something in the country.
The author of the article does a good job of summarizing the atmosphere under the German voters, but also only focuses on the two main candidates in the race for becoming the next German chancellor. The article also has a rather negative view of both main chancellor candidates. Both candidates are people that are very experienced politicians and calling them boring is overexaggerating. It is true that there are candidates from other parties that show more enthusiasm and have more clear goals regarding multiple topics but in general, it is fair to say that every Party wants to stay “calm and collected”. This is one thing that the article pointed out very well, as the German people would rather vote for a candidate that can promise them stability, than someone like Donald Trump. German voters want to vote for someone they can trust and someone that doesn’t experiment. In general, it can be said that Germans are perfectionists and while looking for the perfect chancellor candidate, they are known to be extra picky (the exact German translation for this would be “Meckern auf hohem Niveau”).
Source:
New York Times
This is good, Tobias, but more than necessary for this assignment.
I will say I like your assessment of the situation in Germany, you’re
a good source. But I’m more interested in you assessment of how
the story is written.
Shorten the summary so you can put the focus on the Comment.
I wish we would develop additional parties in this country. As it is
the winning party is able to hold everyone else hostage and impose
whatever laws they want.