The German Elections

E. v. KUEHNELT-LEDDIHN

Now the battle is over, and the polls have been proved wrong. Though failing to get an absolute majority, the combined CDU-CSU have gained. The Social Democrats made slightly larger gains, but they did not pull ahead of the CDU-CSU. The third party in the Bundestag, the Free Democratic Party, lost almost a million votes. But the Social Democrats, again disappointed in their hopes of getting their candidate elected Chancellor of the West German Federal Republic, also suffered a great loss. By 1969 the CDU-CSU will have held power for a fifth of a century, and defeat after defeat (even if combined with a slow inching-ahead) creates a strong sense of frustration. Nobody likes a perennial loser.

EK

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Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn

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E. v. KUEHNELT-LEDDIHN

Now the battle is over, and the polls have been proved wrong. Though failing to get an absolute majority, the combined CDU-CSU have gained. The Social Democrats made slightly larger gains, but they did not pull ahead of the CDU-CSU. The third party in the Bundestag, the Free Democratic Party, lost almost a million votes. But the Social Democrats, again disappointed in their hopes of getting their candidate elected Chancellor of the West German Federal Republic, also suffered a great loss. By 1969 the CDU-CSU will have held power for a fifth of a century, and defeat after defeat (even if combined with a slow inching-ahead) creates a strong sense of frustration. Nobody likes a perennial loser.