"The Hessian Situation - Insight into State Politics"
Upon arrival at our hotel (located above the capital city on the hillside), we assembled in a conference room and the head of the Hessen office of the German television station ZDF explained the upcoming state elections in Hessen. This election in Hessen, to be held that Sunday on January 18, was necessary to form the state government because the two main parties, the Social Democrats (SPD) and the Christian Democrats (CDU), were unable to form a coalition government comprising of CDU/Liberals or SPD/Greens since the 2008 elections.
I can describe the situation in Hessian state politics as a muddle. The SPD party was disadvantaged, in part, because its leader up to now, Andrea Ypsilanti, made a last minute decision to form a coalition with the Left party in a clear contradiction to the previous campaign promise to ally with the Greens. This blunder made her very unpopular with both her party and the voters and led to her retreat from politics. Although the SPD installed Thorsten Schäfer-Gümbel, the party was doomed by Ypsilanti.
A unique attribute of politics in Hessen is that the parties are unusually polarized - the CDU is considered faaar right while the SPD is considered faaar left. This, combined with the highly-personified politics with vicious personal attacks makes Hessen politics unique for Germany.
Results from the January 18 election (in % votes):
CDU: 37.2
SPD: 23.7
FDP: 16.2
Greens: 13.7
Left: 5.4
The ruling coalition in Hessen is now CDU and the Liberal FDP.
"The Hessen Election: A Perspective from the State Election Officials"
The next stop within Wiesbaden was the Interior Ministry of Hessen, which contained the election office. Entering this modern building from the biting January cold was a relief and we were ushered to a sleek conference room. Mr. Hannappel, the chief state election official who oversees all voting and counting, welcomed us and presented us with the nuts and bolts of democracy in Hessen. His presentation explained the voting system in Hessen, how a ballot works, his job as top official, the 55 election districts, election structure, preparations for the election by districts, absentee ballots, reporting and communication channels of results, calculation of state seats, and quality assurance.
Entering the Ministry: the presentation was held in the Ministry of Interior and Sport in Wiesbaden, Hessen's capital.
Fine infrastructure: the conference room where the presentation was held.
"Wiesbaden on foot"
Afterwards we had a few hours on our own before our next date. I spent this time walking around the city of Wiesbaden with some fellow Fellows. Wiesbaden became popular as one of Europe's oldest spa towns, boasting 27 hot springs at one point in history (sadly our schedule did not allow a visit to the baths). It is located at the border between Hessen and its neighboring state of Rheinland Pfalz and is 23 miles west of Frankfurt. In 1900, there were more millionaires living in Wiesbaden than anywhere else in Germany. This was made clear to me by the posh villa neighborhoods in the surrounding hills (spared by WWII bombing). We strolled the city's center and visited the St. Bonifatius church, some stores, and finally stopped at a small Bavarian-themed restaurant for some warm drinks and Kaiserschmarrn.
Wiesbaden cityscape in January: A view towards the sky from the city plaza. From left to right: Hessian Parliament building, the neogothic Marktkirche, and a city building.
"More than 100 Years of Tradition - the Kloster Eberbach (Eberbach Monastery)"
As evening approached, we set forth to the Kloster Eberbach. Mr. Blach, a friend of one of the Bosch Fellows and the Executive Director of the foundation that maintains and manages the monastery, generously offered to give us a private tour with wine tasting and a dinner this evening. We walked through the snowy grounds of the 12th century Cistercian abbey towards the wine cellars while learning about the place's long history. The founding Cistercian monks, part of the reform movement, chose to live with no comforts, sleeping on hard stone floors, waking up a few times at night to pray, and walking around barefoot year-round. These monks made a fortune, however, in wine production and export because the surrounding hills were optimal for grapes and their affiliation with the church made them exempt from tariffs and taxes on their export wine. We tasted several varieties of this wine and it was delicious. Chamber after chamber of wine barrels, wine presses, and storage rooms! The magnitude of the wine operations back then was astounding. Then we had a fantastic dinner at the monastery's restaurant. Superb!
The compound: the Kloster Eberbach is a sprawling campus.
The Name of the Rose: parts of the 1986 film based on Umberto Eco's 1980 novel were filmed at the Kloster Eberbach. Here we look at a room that was used for scenes in the movie.
Wine tasting: here the guide explains the fine wine we are about to enjoy. Notice we are all wearing hats, coats, and gloves. This is because it was freezing! Thankfully, the candles on top of the barrels warmed the atmosphere.
Ancient wine casks
One of the many rooms with wine casks.
A feast worthy for monks: I doubt the Cistercian monks would eat such a fine meal :)
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