SPIEGEL ONLINE Worries About "Americanization of German Politics"

This tv debate was so bad...SPIEGEL ONLINE, Germany's premier anti-American online news outlet, called it "The Americanization of German Politics". Which is really the worst insult the German left could come up with.

Excerpts:

Germans are more intellectual and less superficial than Americans, right? Germans would sure like to think so. But the election campaign here is turning into a decidedly American personality contest. A Thursday evening television debate had the new German politics on display. ...

American political campaigns are filled with easy to digest sound bites and the occasional effort to talk politics, whereas German papers are filled with the minutiae of day-to-day politics and overly wonkish election campaigns that Al Gore would kill to be a part of. ...

Something is happening on the way to the German vote on Sept. 18 and it's not pretty. Call it the Americanization of German politics. ...

In fact, the only question really left to answer in the election is how many Germans will actually head out to cast their ballots. Nobody will be surprised if voter turnout is decidedly American.

I guess if only German politics would produce economic results that are "decidedly American", Germans would be more than willing to put up with the "Americanization of German politics".

Comments

[BEAM]

"Germans are more intellectual and less superficial than Americans, right?"

Ugh.

[LouMinatti]

Perhaps if German citizens, the German media and the German politicians quit spending so much time obsessing about America, Germany would be better off. Obessing about America doesn't solve your unemployment crisis.

[RedLinda]

I don't get it! The author of the quoted article is an American. Besides, he makes more fun of Germans than Americans... What is wrong with you guys? I take the piece as a SPON move in the right direction!

Note from David: I noticed the English connotation of the author too, but don't understand how that would change the interpretation of the article. Belonging to the American left he's highly welcomed at SPIEGEL, of course. In any case, it's a SPON article, that's what counts, not the nationality of the author.

Also, I don't agree with your interpretation. The author defines American election campaigns as a "not pretty" benchmark and goes on to criticize the current German campaign for sinking down to American levels. How that would be a "move in the right direction" escapes me. Clearly, the author wants to convey the message that "Americanization" is a bad thing to happen to German politics.

I mean, isn't that obvious?

[Vic]

Re: Voter turnout in America - the author has a point: only 60% of the eligible voters cast a ballot in the November 2004 US election - and that was a record in recent years. Voter turnout is usually much higher in Europe.

[Doughnut Boy Andy]

Well if the German election is to become a personality contest then Id predict a low turn out as well. I cant think of a single German politician that Id like to have a beer with.

As for this article being a "move in the right direction" Redlinda- what a load of shite. Its same old same old. Take something happening, say its getting worse and make out that this is because its being "Americanized".

During the US election I spent a lot of my time listening to both democrat and republican talk radio in the US and there was a load of debate on different issues, especially on local proposals and the issue of national security. People seemed very clued up with facts and arguments. I havent experienced anything like that here in Germany so far.

[americanbychoice]

I read the anti-Americanism in the German papers on a daily basis. I see the influence of the Media even across my German Family. It is absolutely astounding. Their new "Friends", the Russian and the Chinese are obviously pure in thought and deed. Try to figure it out, I can't.

Even the FAZ had a story about Sean Penn, the "REporter" in Iran> The last two sentences are really telling.

Penns Bericht ist auch ein Essay über die Blindheit der Amerikaner gegenüber allem, was nicht ihre Sprache spricht. Nicht zuletzt deshalb ist er lesenswert.

[PacRimJim]

American search engines have provided translation software that opens dozens of languages to readers around the world. What have the Germans done for their citizens?

[Querdenker]

They learn the languages

[Gabi]

Warum DIE WELT diesem Mann Geld bezahlt, ist mir ein Rätsel.

"Phantastische Soldatinnen, echte Schlampen"
Das Buch der im Irak eingesetzten Sergeantin Kayla Williams liefert Einblicke in den Kriegsalltag
von Uwe Schmitt

http://www.welt.de/data/2005/08/27/766032.html

Uwe Schmitt hat nun völlig den Verstand verloren. Sex im Irak, da geifert er nur noch. Perverser Typ. Mehr als Kopfschütteln habe ich für den nicht mehr.

[Gabi]

Der nächste Artikel in der WELT dann über das "typische" Israel:

Provokation mit Schweinskopf - ein jüdisches Paar hat einen Schweinskopf in eine Moschee geworfen, versehen mit Palästinensertuch und dem Schriftzug "Das ist Mohammed".
http://www.welt.de/data/2005/08/27/766069.html

Palästinensische Terrorversuche verschweigt man gerne als unwichtig, aber diesen "jüdischen Schweinekram" muß man natürlich verbreiten.

DIE WELT wird der Süddeutschen immer ähnlicher. Nur noch zum Abgewöhnen.

[Doughnut Boy Andy]

Without America there wouldnt be any election anyways, but of course if it wasnt for Americanization the election here would be really serious:

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's Social Democrats are trailing opposition leader Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats in all the leading opinion polls ahead of a September 18 general election.

But Schroeder's SPD have nevertheless opened up a comfortable lead of 117 litres in an unusual "Vote With Your Throat" beer drinking survey at a popular tavern in the government quarter.

The "Waehle mit der Kehle" poll allows beer drinkers at the Bundespressestrand to choose between the "Schroeder tap", which is painted in the SPD colour red, or the "Merkel tap", painted in Merkel's CDU banner colour of black.

Exactly 1,319 litres of the Schroeder beer were purchased in the first two weeks of the race, according to a digital measuring device at the beach-style bar across the River Spree from the Reichstag building, compared to Merkel's 1,202 litres.

The results of the poll, sponsored by the German-language Financial Times Deutschland newspaper, are published each day on the newspaper's Internet site (www.ftd.de/kehle).

Merkel had opened an early 105-litre advantage after the first weekend of the beer polling, but Schroeder mounted a furious comeback, racing to a 151-litre lead after the second weekend before it started to dry up again.

By contrast, the CDU lead the SPD by between 14-11 points in the latest opinion polls.

http://today.reuters.co.uk/News/newsArticle.aspx?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyID=2005-08-26T121855Z_01_KRA644258_RTRIDST_0_OUKOE-UK-GERMANY-ELECTION.XML

Now no self respecting German will suggest that drinking beer has anything to do with Americanization, surely not.

[Gabi]

Und diesen Unsinn muß man sich dann gegen Ende der Zeitung antun:

Grass: Merkel hat sich disqualifiziert
Politik
Nach Ansicht von Literatur-Nobelpreisträger Günter Grass hat sich Angela Merkel (CDU) wegen ihrer Haltung zum Irak-Krieg als Kanzlerin disqualifiziert. "Frau Merkel ist dem Amt absolut nicht gewachsen", sagte er dem "Vorwärts". Grass begründete dies auch mit Merkels USA-Besuch vor dem Irak-Krieg. Die CDU-Vorsitzende habe damals Bundeskanzler Schröder (SPD) bei US-Präsident George W. Bush "angeschwärzt und herabgesetzt". dpa

Artikel erschienen am Sa, 27. August 2005

http://www.welt.de/data/2005/08/27/765945.html

Und der Untertitel "Politik" is so bezeichnend!

[Jabba the Tutt]

@Querdenker: "They learn the languages."

Hahaha, good one. Didn't know you had a sense of humor. This was 25 years ago, but I lived in Germany for 3 years, studied and worked with highly educated people. Few could speak a foreign language and they had usually lived overseas working for the international division. Have things changed that much? What's more, when a German learns English, that means money in their pocket. Why haven't more learned English?

[Tyranno]

querdenker posts: "They learn the languages."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Years ago my brother asked me why I bothered to study French in school? "Well, it is fun and interesting and I wanted to learn another language," I said. He, being of practical (5th generation American) German stock, replied, but if I travel to the next state to my north, south, east or west, they all speak english!

I took his point to be, Europe is a collection of very small nations that have perfected the art of turning their necessities into virtues. After having lived there for almost six years I would add that simple bigotries and emotional, unsophisticated thinking can sound almost intellectual in another language.

Tyranno