In The News: "Europe's Upcoming Elections" (incl. Germany's)
Speaking of Wahl...
Europe's upcoming elections
By Peter Apps, Political Risk Correspondent
LONDON, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Europe faces a slew of national elections in the coming weeks with the focus on what form of coalitions will emerge and whether they will make it easier or harder to make crucial adjustments in the face of the economic crisis. Germany, Norway, Portugal and Greece are all due to hold national elections in late September or early October, while Ireland's Green Party has warned there is a 40 percent chance they might quit the ruling coalition in the coming six months, sparking snap polls. The Czech Republic was due to hold elections on Oct. 9-10 and still potentially could, but the Constitutional Court effectively suspended the vote last week while it considers a court challenge. Below are the key points to watch for each election.
GERMANY -- GRAND OR NARROW COALITION?
The German Sept. 27 election has been most prominent on the radar of international financial markets, keen to see what will happen in Europe's linchpin economy. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is seen likely to stay in power, with the key question being whether she will do well enough to be able to ditch her current grand coalition to move to a tighter, centre-right coalition between her conservative bloc and the business-friendly Free Democrats (FDP).
A poll last week showed the support for the conservative grouping -- the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Christian Social Union (CSU) -- slipping to a three-month low, meaning she might need to again join with the rival Social Democrats (SPD). Policy differences between the two most likely coalitions are relatively slight, although a centre-right alliance is seen likely to cut public spending more as well as some taxes.
Expectations of Germany's first grand coalition since the 1960s were low when it was formed in 2005, but it has been more successful than most expected, praised for its handling of the financial crisis and moves to balance the federal budget.
In principle, a narrower coalition should make policy-making easy and swifter for Merkel but she would lose one advantage of the grand coalition, its dominating majority in Germany's lower house of parliament which allowed it to push through legislation with little or no opposition.
For Greece and the other countries, continue reading here~
http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSL840522720090908
Europe's upcoming elections
By Peter Apps, Political Risk Correspondent
LONDON, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Europe faces a slew of national elections in the coming weeks with the focus on what form of coalitions will emerge and whether they will make it easier or harder to make crucial adjustments in the face of the economic crisis. Germany, Norway, Portugal and Greece are all due to hold national elections in late September or early October, while Ireland's Green Party has warned there is a 40 percent chance they might quit the ruling coalition in the coming six months, sparking snap polls. The Czech Republic was due to hold elections on Oct. 9-10 and still potentially could, but the Constitutional Court effectively suspended the vote last week while it considers a court challenge. Below are the key points to watch for each election.
GERMANY -- GRAND OR NARROW COALITION?
The German Sept. 27 election has been most prominent on the radar of international financial markets, keen to see what will happen in Europe's linchpin economy. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is seen likely to stay in power, with the key question being whether she will do well enough to be able to ditch her current grand coalition to move to a tighter, centre-right coalition between her conservative bloc and the business-friendly Free Democrats (FDP).
A poll last week showed the support for the conservative grouping -- the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Christian Social Union (CSU) -- slipping to a three-month low, meaning she might need to again join with the rival Social Democrats (SPD). Policy differences between the two most likely coalitions are relatively slight, although a centre-right alliance is seen likely to cut public spending more as well as some taxes.
Expectations of Germany's first grand coalition since the 1960s were low when it was formed in 2005, but it has been more successful than most expected, praised for its handling of the financial crisis and moves to balance the federal budget.
In principle, a narrower coalition should make policy-making easy and swifter for Merkel but she would lose one advantage of the grand coalition, its dominating majority in Germany's lower house of parliament which allowed it to push through legislation with little or no opposition.
For Greece and the other countries, continue reading here~
http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSL840522720090908