Election Day in Germany

Lat Sunday was election day here in Germany. It's pretty much the same as in the US - lots of signs up for the different political parties, ads on TV, people passing out flyers - all the things you'd expect.

One small difference is there are strict laws controlling the size of signs on the street. We have very few billboards since they are considered a distraction. Instead we have lots of posters that are the size of sandwich-board signs. Starting about a month before the elections you see a poster about every twenty feet on the streets.

Most of the posters say the same things that politicians the world over say: More Job Security, More Rights to the Citizens, Less Government Control. I only saw one that as a foreigner living here I found offensive: "Multi Kulti? Nein, Danke." This translates to "Multi-cultured? No, thanks." Obviously some party doesn't like foreigners.

Voting itself is also similar to voting in the US. You go to the nearby school or library, check in at a table surrounded by thirty people working there, head back to the two or three voting booths, and make your choices on a ballot.

I have never voted here in Stuttgart, but when I lived in Frankfurt, all foreigners were allowed to vote for someone to represent them. Voting in a German election was very interesting for me and my Austrian husband, unfortunately we never learned what the foreigner representative did, or if it helped us.

Anyway, it's been nearly a week since the election and most of the signs are down and things are getting back to normal. I'm not sure when the next round of elections will be, but I've had enough for awhile.

Please let me know if you have any questions about life in Germany, or if you have any questions about selling a self-published book! Feel free to write to me here or at www.jexbo.com. Thanks!