It seems as if the political consensus of the past few years has started, rather dramatically, unravel. Germany has seen the rise of its minor parties to prominence — the Greens have become a force to be reckoned with, as had the FDP before its implosion under the rather less than able guidance of its leader Guido “Dorothy” Westerwelle. What has often been overlooked in Merkel’s current travails is that her party’s share of power has largely remained stable. Her main opposition, the SPD, have been hit even harder. Schröder, for all his numerous flaws, was a powerful leader and no one has been able to follow in his footsteps since he moved on to his spiritual home, Russia.
The question is if the CDU will be able to do much better when Merkel is inevitably pushed out of the way. The overall quality of her party’s leadership has been in drastic decline over the past year with most of the biggest stars either entering retirement (do they read the writing on the wall?) or were forced by circumstances to resign. With an absence of able leadership from either main party and with minor parties, especially on the left (the Communists have also eaten well into the SPD’s former voting bloc), Germany’s future politics appear stagnant and decidedly bland as Grand Coalitions between the two dinosaurs of German politics. (Naturally, these would be dominated by the CDU as they have been holding up better)
The USA is entering its own period of paralysis. The Republicans, now holding a strong majority in the House, have been able to mercifully put the brakes on Obama’s agenda. Lacking control of the Senate, however, little has been accomplished. Though it appears likely that the Republicans will control both the House and the Senate next year, there is still a question of whether or not Obama will be able to hold on or not. While there are new stars rising on the American right, no one has risen high enough to be president and the current lot of candidates are lacklustre on all fronts. Should Obama be re-elected (God Forbid) the chances of achieving much is virtually nil.
This is partially the result of the failure of the centre to hold the ground fiscally or morally. In more moderate times spending and liabilities grew increasingly out of control, the pollies increasingly detached from voters. The Democrats have grown ever harder to the left, the Republicans ever harder tot he right — the centre simply collapsed as supporters of both parties grew increasingly hostile to yielding ground to each other. Comments from Australia would be appreciated.
Paragraphs added at the request of the Bear.
Boadicea's Chariot 
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