Hamburg elections: change but more of the same?

The Left won big in recent Hamburg elections, winning 6.4%, although one could ask if little was changed. The CDU party lost about 5 percent (42%) and the SPD increased its percentage a little (34%). The FDP won about 5% of the vote and the Greens lost 3%, going to about 9%.

Who will form the government is a big question. There is talk that the CDU might try to have the Greens as a governing partner which would be a huge change. The Greens, long staunchly alternative and "left," aligning itself with the conservative party is a situation that many thought would never happen.

There is also talk of a "grand coalition" of the CDU with the SPD like what is in the national government. The SPD, however, insists that it will not join a coalition with the Left Party. It seems that stalemate is setting in in Germany that might continue till the next national elections which take place late 2009.