Reaganism, Thatcherism, Merkelism

The German elections provide more proof that European leftism is on the wane. Chancellor Merkel won re-election promising tax cuts and economic de-regulation. What is more, her margin of victory means that she no longer has to rely on a "grand coalition" that formerly restricted her conservative tendencies.

Bloomberg reports:

Sept. 28 (Bloomberg) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she’ll press ahead with tax cuts and labor-market deregulation after winning re-election with enough support to govern with the pro-business Free Democrats.

With Germany struggling to recover from the deepest economic slump since World War II, voters spurned plans by Merkel’s Social Democratic challenger to raise taxes on top earners. Frank-Walter Steinmeier’s SPD had its worst postwar result in what he called a “bitter day” after sharing power with Merkel for four years and governing for the previous seven.

“There’s a clear sentiment in favor of economic changes, especially on income taxes,” Tilman Mayer, head of the Bonn- based Institute for Political Science, said in an interview. “Voters have turned their back on grand coalition-style compromise politics.”

Read about it here.

So, just as Europe begins to embrace Reaganite principles, the United States under Obama is precipitously veering in the opposite direction. Which course will prove to be the better one. We shall see, but I certainly wouldn't bet on Obama [if I had a choice in the matter].