General Discussion

Here in Germany, the once dominant SPD (Social Democratic Party of Germany) led in the 1970s by the smart and able Helmut Schmidt, got sabotaged by its rigidly ideological left wing, pissed off its coalition partner, the Free Democrats, who then joined, and thus handed power to, Kohl’s CDU, the German Center-right.

Having no more solid leadership, the SPD drowned what remained of their identity into being the party of the hated bureaucrat, adopted the useless slogan of “mehr Gerechtigkeit,” meaning “more justice,” because they were too scared (with good reason) to say, “raise our high taxes even higher!”

Predictably, from getting a formidable 40+% in national elections, they sunk to under 20%, an embarrassing disgrace. As you put it, they lost their reason for existing. The German left now has a choice between the Greens, who just ditched their own common sense leader for a mish-mosh cabal of wannabes, and two extremist parties who siphon off just enough votes from the Greens to prevent them from doing any more good.

The Germans used to mock the French with their permanent irreconcilable differences, but now they are, themselves, quickly becoming the village of Asterix.