Germany's Fusionist Election

Even as America's political class expands its dominance over the U.S. economy, German voters sent the opposite signal to Berlin in today's parliamentary elections.

Since Germany has proportional voting, the Bundestag has representation from five different parties. At the risk of major oversimplification, the major parties are roughly equivalent to the Republicans (Christian Democrats), Democrats (Social Democrats), Greens, Libertarians (Free Democrats, aka "Die Liberalen"), and Socialists. Of course, the latter three parties, though technically minor parties compared to the first two, bear little resemblance to their American brethren. Simply put, U.S. third parties have no prospect of attaining political power, so they radicalize much more than those in Germany and other proportional representation systems.

In any case, this election marks the end of the 'grand coaltion' of Social Democrats and Christian Democrats--a tenuous and relatively non-reformist coalition. The coming Christian Democrat and Liberal Democrat coalition is essentially a fusionist (in the Frank Meyer sense) coalition of conservatives and libertarians.

It's too soon to tell what policies they'll pursue, but tax relief and improving the business climate have been major parts of their platforms. This means casting off those regulations that are harmful, cutting spending, cutting taxes, and otherwise reducing the burden of government.

One hopes that they've learned from the Republicans that tax cuts without spending cuts doesn't really cut taxes, it just shifts that burden to the future. (Yes, my supply-side friends, I know that the dynamic effects of tax cuts can make up for part of the revenue loss, but rare is the tax cut that fully pays for itself.) Fortunately for Merkel and company, Germany's flabby welfare state offers plenty of fat to cut out.

Zum Wohl and viel Gluck!