It's August and Germany is having parliamentary elections this year. The election to the 18th German Bundestag will be held on 22 September 2013. As a result the campaign posters started cropping up on the lamp posts this past week. Angela Merkel, so called "Queen of Europe" is up for re-election. Merkel's party is the CDU ( Christian Democratic Union). Their slogan is simple:
It means "Together Success for Germany".
The opposition party-the SPD ( Social Democrats) are putting their attack on Merkel:
The poster mocks Merkel's cabinet. "Merkel's Compentence Team?" The slogan of SPD is "This we decide-Now we can vote for change". (Das wir entscheidet. Jetzt den Wechsel wahlen). Its not quite as good as their shark poster from 2009.
The best posters are those from the Pirate Party. Yes, Virginia, there is a Pirate Party in Germany. Arrgh! Formed in 2006 it originally was a protest effort centered on free access to internet and data-but it actually won enough seats in 2009 that it had to think about broader issues.
The poster translates into : "Ask your children why you should vote Pirate. Vote Pirate".
On the plus side-at least the Germans don't drag it out for 2 years like we do. 6 Weeks and get it over with.