The World

I 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.