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The German parliament's lobby room
was reorganised for the election.
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A centre heated up
by spotlights and speculations,
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where forecasts abound,
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opinion pollsters feel anxious
and the voters' opinions are revealed.
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The SPD had expected
to gain more votes.
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But the real loser was the FDP.
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Undoubtedly one of the reasons
was the fact that the two parties
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in the government coalition
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ran against each other
with unprecedented ferocity.
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Because of the polarization
among the voters,
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FDP voters were pushed
in one direction or another,
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and we were not able to keep them
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in the election decision.
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"Who is in coalition with whom?"
was the night's crucial question.
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As party leader, I would like to say
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that this is the best result
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we've had so far.
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The distance between CDU-CSU
and the SPD
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has been well halved
from over 8% to 4%.
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I don't know
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why there's this discussion
about the grand coalition.
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It is not the solution for the moment.
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The CDU-CSU, the strongest party
despite its loss of votes,
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also kept its options open.
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I always...
I never made a secret out of it
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that I am convinced
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that continuing with the grand
coalition under all circumstances
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should be tied up
with a clear agreement
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on voting rights.
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Just now,
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I got a phone call
from President Nixon,
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in which he congratulated us
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on the election results.
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You can't expect me
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to now triumphantly say
that the slogan
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"It all comes down to the Chancellor"
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was decisive.
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I think in some way
I contributed to this...
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The young union even used
Germany's national anthem
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to celebrate Kurt Georg Kiesinger.
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But only the coalition talks
will reveal
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the reputation of the Chancellor.
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It all comes down to him.
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It all comes down to the Chancellor
It all comes down to the Chancellor