Double Vote

Deadline for applying for postal vote ballot paper was 18:00 this evening. Even if you applied at 17:59, the papers would still be delivered tonight.

Deadline for returning the paper is 18:00 on Sunday, the same time as the ballot stations close.

Now Angie has to make her choices. One vote on the left side for one of the ten named local candidates - the candidate who gets the most votes (first past the post) gets to be our local MP.

On the right side she then votes for one of the 21 Parties in Bavaria who have placed a list of candidates and according to the share of the vote the Party gets, so it's candidates, according to their rank on the list, become MPs too but without any regional (just Bavarian) ties.

Half the seats in the German National Parliament are the direct voted named MPs, the other half are those on the party list.

So if this was in the UK and you lived in Islington North, you could put your left X against Jeremy Corbyn and the right one against the Conservative Party.

After the quite ridiculous speech delivered by Mrs May today, the above ridiculous voting choices seem very reasonable. Poor poor Britain - the agony and the incredible cost in all the pre 2019 or 2021 or 2025 or 2050 Brexit will cost the country dear. Never mind the actual post Brexit cost.

There is one advantage of being stripped of my voting rights in the UK. At least I can claim that she is NOT my Prime Minister and it's NOT my Government. And very sadly, I DON'T want it to be my Opposition either.
Also luckily, Mrs May's speech doesn't interest anyone here. In general I think the Germans would like us to stay but if we go, then fine - bye bye but when we want to get back in, we won't get the famous special financial terms Mrs Thatcher boxed through and I doubt without the UK agreeing to the full EU package eg Schengen & Euro assuming they still exist.

Mrs Merkel wound up her campaign today in Munich, where her party does not have any candidates. The idiots from the left and right were bussed in, in large numbers with their whistles and shouts. Luckily she is not phased by this. Having opposing views is the lifeblood of politics but so is a sensible debate. A skill and talent these protestors and the UK politicians either never had or have forgotten.

I did rather like the Sky News reporters comment on Mrs May wanting something between Canada and Norway - Greenland he suggested!