Freedom Line Blog

In a historic election result, German voters this weekend turned toward tax cuts, free markets and labor reform, and sent the leftist Social Democratic Party (SDP) to its worst-ever performance.  What made this election historic wasn’t the reelection of Chancellor Angela Merkel and her center-right Christian Democratic Party (CDP), but rather the unprecedented success of the free-market Free Democratic Party (FDP) and Germans’ rejection of socialism.

The FDP platform calls for reduced taxes, deregulation, moderation of Germany’s suffocating labor laws and strong ties with the United States, and its leader Guido Westerwelle confidently called for tax simplification and lower rates during his victory speech.  German business also welcomed the results, with German Chambers of Industry and Commerce spokesman Heinrich Driftmann confirming that “the election result is a clear vote for courageous reforms.”  Although Chancellor Merkel was elected in 2005, her slimmer victory margin forced her to enter a governing coalition with the socialist SDP, which threw a wet blanket on her market-oriented agenda.  With the FDP’s remarkable showing, Germans expressed their desire to finally implement that freedom agenda.

This result sends a clear signal to Americans as Obama attempts to impose his own socialist model upon the United States.  Germans have seen that model first-hand during this global economic downturn, and soundly rejected it to provide a welcome example for American voters.