Germany is governed by a coalition of three parties - the CDU/CSU and the SPD (see my previous post). Depending on the situation, the CDU and CSU like to think of themselves as one political party or as two political parties. When it comes to divvying up the minister positions in the government, then they're two parties. Which party gets which office is set down in the coalition contract; according to this contract, the CSU fills the office of Minister of Economics.
So far so good. When the current government took office in November 2005 the Minister of Economics was Michael Glos, an experienced CSU politician from a small town in lower Franconia. Glos has not enjoyed high visibility as Economics Minister, you might say that he hasn't had a good economic crisis. Making his situation worse were the difficulties he had with the head of the CSU, Horst Seehofer.
Did I mention that Glos is from a small town in lower Franconia? Foreigners tend to think of Bavaria as one big homogeneous state where everyone runs around in Lederhosen and Dirndl
and drink beer and talk to cows. Well, there's more to it than that. Bavaria is comprised of several distinct regions, each with its own proud history and dialects. What most tourists think of as Bavaria is the southern portion, with the two districts Lower Bavaria and Upper Bavaria (Upper Bavaria is the part closer to the Alps, which makes it easy to remember the difference). These two parts are often referred to as "Alt-Bayern", or Old Bavaria.
Off to the west of Munich is the Bavarian part of Swabia (most of Swabia is in Baden-Württemberg); to the east and northeast of Lower Bavaria lies the Upper Palatinate (including the Bavarian Forest), and to the north lie the three parts of Franconia, which are (bet you can't guess) Upper, Middle and Lower Franconia.
The Franconians are very proud of their history, traditions and culture. There are some obvious differences - they don't have as many mountains, they tend to drink wine instead of beer (Franconia is a major wine-producing area), and they're known for having a dry, laconic sense of humor. The CSU always tries to keep the peace among the Bavarian regions by dividing the offices among them. Now you may guess the significance of the fact that Michael Glos is a Franconian.
As established above, the office of Economics Minister is at the disposal of the CSU in this government. And since Glos is a Franconian, his replacement practically has to be a Franconian. So the crux of the matter is, curing the worst economic crisis that most of us will experience, the post of Economics Minister of one of the top industrial nations in the world is being limited to a small circle of people, thanks to the politics of proportionalism (which has nothing to do with proportional representation). That's about the same as if Obama had to pick the commerce secretary only among Hawaiian Democrats. I don't want to imply that Franconians or Hawaiians are generally unsuited for high office, just that it seems wrong to limit your choices so narrowly - especially at such a crucial time.
In the end, a Franconian, Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, was named Glos' successor and was quickly sworn in. He is a very young politician (37), whose most prominent post till now has been the general secretary of the CSU. Guttenberg is from an old noble family; his father is a noted conductor. He is apparently intelligent and ambitious; I wish him luck in his new job. But Germany should consider whether this is a sensible way to select important government officials.
So far so good. When the current government took office in November 2005 the Minister of Economics was Michael Glos, an experienced CSU politician from a small town in lower Franconia. Glos has not enjoyed high visibility as Economics Minister, you might say that he hasn't had a good economic crisis. Making his situation worse were the difficulties he had with the head of the CSU, Horst Seehofer.
Did I mention that Glos is from a small town in lower Franconia? Foreigners tend to think of Bavaria as one big homogeneous state where everyone runs around in Lederhosen and Dirndl
and drink beer and talk to cows. Well, there's more to it than that. Bavaria is comprised of several distinct regions, each with its own proud history and dialects. What most tourists think of as Bavaria is the southern portion, with the two districts Lower Bavaria and Upper Bavaria (Upper Bavaria is the part closer to the Alps, which makes it easy to remember the difference). These two parts are often referred to as "Alt-Bayern", or Old Bavaria.
Off to the west of Munich is the Bavarian part of Swabia (most of Swabia is in Baden-Württemberg); to the east and northeast of Lower Bavaria lies the Upper Palatinate (including the Bavarian Forest), and to the north lie the three parts of Franconia, which are (bet you can't guess) Upper, Middle and Lower Franconia.
The Franconians are very proud of their history, traditions and culture. There are some obvious differences - they don't have as many mountains, they tend to drink wine instead of beer (Franconia is a major wine-producing area), and they're known for having a dry, laconic sense of humor. The CSU always tries to keep the peace among the Bavarian regions by dividing the offices among them. Now you may guess the significance of the fact that Michael Glos is a Franconian.
As established above, the office of Economics Minister is at the disposal of the CSU in this government. And since Glos is a Franconian, his replacement practically has to be a Franconian. So the crux of the matter is, curing the worst economic crisis that most of us will experience, the post of Economics Minister of one of the top industrial nations in the world is being limited to a small circle of people, thanks to the politics of proportionalism (which has nothing to do with proportional representation). That's about the same as if Obama had to pick the commerce secretary only among Hawaiian Democrats. I don't want to imply that Franconians or Hawaiians are generally unsuited for high office, just that it seems wrong to limit your choices so narrowly - especially at such a crucial time.
In the end, a Franconian, Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, was named Glos' successor and was quickly sworn in. He is a very young politician (37), whose most prominent post till now has been the general secretary of the CSU. Guttenberg is from an old noble family; his father is a noted conductor. He is apparently intelligent and ambitious; I wish him luck in his new job. But Germany should consider whether this is a sensible way to select important government officials.
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