The CDU-Greens Coalition in Hesse: Why It Matters

The new CDU-Green coalition in Hesse opens up a whole host possibilities beyond the entrenched pattern of party competition in Germany. Volker Bouffier emerged as an unexpectedly shrewd political operator who presented his party – in Hesse, the other Länder and perhaps even in Berlin – with new options beyond the unloved Great Coalition and the outdated CDU/FDP formats. Plus lots of interesting stuff about names in German Politics

The Great NPD Leadership Crisis (Christmas Edition)

The NPD ended 2013 with a veritable Christmas Panto. On December 19, Holger Apfel, who had become party leader in 2011, stepped down from this and other party offices citing his ill health. On December 22, the party’s highest decision making body published a communique that urged Apfel to ‘disprove allegations directed against him’. Within hours, the nature of these allegations emerged, first in the blogosphere, then in the mainstream media: One ‘young comrade’ (male) claimed that the (drunken) leader had sexually harassed him during the electoral campaign. Shortly afterwards, Apfel left the party for good.

Leader of German “National Democrats” (NPD) Resigns

Holger Apfel, the leader of Germany’s right-wing extremist National Democratic Party (NPD), resigns. Apfel’s move adds to the NPD’s many woes: The NPD is very nearly bankrupt as a result of financial irregularities. Moreover, the party’s constitutionality is currently being investigated by the Federal Constitutional Court. These proceedings could result in a ban of the NPD.

Meanwhile in Germany: The Great Coalition Treaty Vote

SPD votes on the coalition agreement It’ another slow week for German politics, what with the Mandela Memorial, near-civil war in Thailand, the standoff in Ukraine and the South Korean/Japanese Chinese skirmishes. BUT: a small-scale CDU party conference of some 180 delegates has approved unanimously of the CDU/CSU/SPD agreement (a ‘Coalition Treaty’ in German parlance,…

Just How Biased is Your Survey? Ask our Stata Add-On (Update)

We have updated our Stata package surveybias, which estimates bias in pre-election polls and other surveys where the true distribution is known. A new feature facilitates the en masse comparison of surveys collected before an election. Also in this release: somewhat better documentation and toy data to get you started.

Interview with Deutsche Welle on the Danish People’s Party & the New Populist Alliance

Interview mit der Deutschen Welle zur Einordnung der Dänischen Volkspartei und deren Rolle in einem möglichen Verbund europäischer Rechtsparteien. Foter.com / CC BY-SAInterview with Deutsche Welle on the Danish People’s Party and their potential role within an alliance of right-wing populist parties in Europe.