Back to Gideon RachmanI am in Berlin in search of election fever, ahead of the German vote on September 27th. But there is not much evidence of massive excitement over the vote - even though it is taking place just after the deepest German recession since the war. Perhaps that is because the polls have stayed pretty steady. There is another one out today, showing Angela Merkel and the CDU cruising to victory - well ahead of the SPD, with the three minor parties (the liberals (FPD), the Left and the Greens) battling it out at the bottom.
But I would say that the Left have certainly won the poster battle on the streets of Berlin. There are red “Linke” posters everywhere - the most striking of which demands “Raus aus Afghanistan” - a call for immediate German withdrawal from Afghanistan.
In theory, this should be a vote winner. The polls suggest that some 60% of Germans agree with the left’s call to get out of Afghanistan. The main parties are beginning to respond to this mood. Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the foreign secretary and the leader of the SPD, has talked of “laying the foundations for a withdrawal” - but has stopped short of setting a date certain.
Interestingly (well, I find it interesting), the polls also suggest that Green voters are the only party where a majority are in favour of the Afghan mission. What a reversal, that is - for a party that has its roots in the anti-capitalist, anti-American left. What has happened is that the Greens have turned into Germany’s most internationalist party; their voters may also respond to the human-rights arguments for the Afghan war. Still, the stance may not do the party much good in the elections. The latest polls suggest that they are down in fifth - below the anti-war, anti-capitalist Left.
This blog covers a variety of topics from US foreign policy to European politics and the Middle East - and whatever else happens to be in the news or catch my attention. I joined the FT as chief foreign affairs commentator in 2006, after a 15-year career at The Economist which included stints as a correspondent in Brussels, Bangkok and Washington. I write a weekly column on foreign affairs, which appears in the paper on Tuesdays. Occasionally my FT colleagues contribute posts to this blog.
Geoff Dyer is the FT's China bureau chief. He has been a correspondent in Shanghai and in Brazil and has also covered the pharmaceuticals and biotechnology industries from London.
Roula Khalaf is the FT's Middle East editor. She has worked for the FT since 1995, first as North Africa correspondent, then Middle East correspondent and most recently as Middle East editor. Before joining the FT, she was a staff writer for Forbes magazine in New York. 
James Blitz is the FT's defence and diplomatic editor. He has been the FT's political editor, based in London, and Rome bureau chief. James is a former Moscow bureau chief for the Sunday Times.
Alan Beattie is the FT's world trade editor. He has previously been economics leader writer and spent two years in Washington DC as chief US economics correspondent. Before joining the FT, Alan was an economist at the Bank of England. 
Victor Mallet is the FT's Madrid correspondent. He is a former Asia editor of the FT, and, in more than 20 years at the organisation, has also worked in Africa, Europe and the Middle East. In 1990 he escaped from Kuwait after being one of the few foreign correspondents there when Iraq invaded. 
Stefan Wagstyl is the FT's eastern Europe editor, co-ordinating coverage of the region. He has also been the FT's bureau chief in Tokyo and New Delhi.
