And the winner is….

Well, apparently…no one. That’s right. Merkel and Germany's conservatives won a narrow victory on Sunday but fell short of the majority needed to form a coalition government with their preferred partners, the pro-business Free Democrats. Weeks ago, Merkel had been predicted to handily win the election, but in the weeks leading up to the election, either voter indecision, the ability of Merkel to differentiate herself as the “voice of change”, or a series of political gaffes resulted in Merkel only claiming 35% of the parliamentary vote.

Schroder, on the other hand, gained 34% of vote, but cannot be declared the victor either. Neither candidate has the required majority to govern based solely on the votes they received.

To make matters worse, there are still the 2-4 seats up for grabs in the election in Dresden, due to the death of a candidate resulting in the election for all candidates, including Chancellor, being delayed for 2 weeks in that district.

So, as things stand now, we have both candidates claiming they have a “clear mandate” from the people to serve as Germany’s next chancellor. Sorry, ladies and gents, 34-35% is not a clear mandate. In my book, a clear mandate should be at least 50% or more. I realize it is just the rhetoric of politicos, but still, basic math should be a prerequisite for government service. Maybe that is why Merkel had problems explaining the new tax proposal…

Secondly, neither of the two people can become chancellor without forming a coalition government with another party. So, who is going to take whom to the big dance? Which parties will now put aside party platform differences that were once so divisive, and form a coalition that will allow either Merkel or Schroder to become chancellor?

Bottom line: No new German chancellor just yet. This topic should be fodder for at least 2-3 weeks of media speculation, water cooler talk, and yes, more campaign stumping…