UNFORTUNATE ANALOGY OF THE DAY:

Merkel takes over and faces instant rebellion (Luke Harding, November 23, 2005, The Guardian)

Angela Merkel has become Germany's first woman chancellor, winning 397 votes in the 614-seat Bundestag, or lower house. Her election yesterday marks the end of months of political chaos following the general election in September, which neither of the two major parties won. Ms Merkel presides over a "grand coalition" government made up of conservatives from her Christian Democrats and the centre-left Social Democrats.

But there were signs of trouble. Some 51 MPs from the two coalition parties failed to vote for Ms Merkel, with most of the rebels almost certainly coming from within the SPD. A few of Ms Merkel's fellow conservatives may also have put the knife in.

Combining German Chancellors with talk of a "stab in the back" tends to be a bad idea.

Posted by Orrin Judd at November 22, 2005 9:09 PM