Elections are the proof of democratic vitality, but Sunday’s confusing result in Germany serves as a reminder that gauging public opinion is not always a pretty process. Thank goodness for the Afghans whose vote in a dangerous environment remind us that the potential for democratic progress can be enormous.
Germans stripped Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder’s ruling coalition of Social Democrats and Greens of their parliamentary majority. But Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats won just three votes more, short of a majority even in alliance with the pro-business Free Democrats.
Both sides declared victory and moved to form a new government.
In some ways, the German results mirrored the “50/50” split among American voters highlighted in the disputed 2000 election. President George W. Bush, despite receiving a minority of the popular vote, was able to recast the U.S. government in a more conservative image because his party also controlled Congress. That’s obviously not the case in Germany’s fractured parliamentary body, which is likely to be deadlocked.
By contrast, Sunday’s elections in Afghanistan marked a significant, if tentative, step toward democracy. President Bush hailed the results, saying the Afghan people had defied the Taliban and “those who threaten their lives.”
The Taliban – ousted by U.S. and allied intervention following the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks – was itself voted into power in a chaotic era of Afghan politics. This time, they threatened Afghans who voted, and turnout was modest at best.
Yet the Afghan people’s achievement shouldn’t be underestimated. Like recent elections in Iraq, the road to democracy can be tortuous in a nation with no tradition of peaceful self-government. In emerging democracies, each election is an opportunity for progress – and at the same time, a risk that can provoke violent countermeasures from reactionary forces.
That same ambivalence is clear even in Egypt, where the Sept. 7 elections marked the first time that multiple candidates were allowed to stand in the presidential balloting. Voters handed another term to President Hosni Mubarak, but it may serve as a step toward truly free elections. Even so, parliamentary elections that are coming up in November may serve to strengthen fundamentalist groups like the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood that are opposed to Mubarak’s secular approach.
Elections are vital but not always pretty.
