Sergey Kirukhin. Parteigenosse Kolya has no time for anniversaries

Parteigenosse Kolya has no time for anniversaries
Sergey Kirukhin

Publication date: February 29, 2000

German Christian Democrats on the defensive - 3

With the shackles of illegal financial activities of the German CDU party developing according to the already outlined scenario. Christian Democrats continue to abandon position after position. The events of recent days have confirmed this trend.

Once again Helmut Kohl got his way. The former chancellor was forced to cancel any celebrations to mark his seventieth birthday. It is clear that neither he nor his party colleagues are in the mood for a holiday. And besides, some particularly nervous citizens warned that they were going to - if the celebrations did take place - throw a certain kind of rotten objects at the former father of the nation and hero of the unification of Germany. This is such a historical injustice. Both in the party and in society as a whole, the prevailing opinion now is that Kolya should renounce all his posts (including his deputy mandate) and finally say goodbye to politics.

On Sunday, elections to the state parliament were held in Schleswig-Holstein, in the north of the country. As it was easy to assume, the Social Democrats won (43.1%), the CDU was in second place (35.2%). The Social Democrats' allies, the Green Party, continue to weaken and gained only 6.2% this time; but the liberals gained very well: the Free Democratic Party received 7.6%. 4.1% went to the regional association of voters. As a result, the Social Democrats and Greens receive a simple majority in the Landtag. Representatives of these parties will enter the upper house of the German parliament, the Bundesrat, from Schleswig-Holstein.

The CDU leadership seems almost satisfied with the election results. This was the first serious check of the party since the beginning of the scandal, and its outcome was not as catastrophic as one might have expected. So party members can take a breath and do what they love: dividing up party posts. After all, as a result of the scandal, the CDU found itself without leadership.

The Social Democrats, for their part, are no less pleased: they have finally managed to halt a series of serious defeats in regional elections, which could lift the spirits of their supporters and improve the atmosphere in which the federal government operates. So, as one of the commentators noted, everywhere you look there are only winners.