Pick a Tap, Any Tap

Well, it comes as no surprise that Germans are “pulling out all the stops” in trying to predict Sunday’s election results for chancellor. There are a number of ways to try to predict the winner, with these methods ranging from the scientific to downright wacky (exit polls, newspaper polls, “the man-on-the street” opinions, think tank techies who “have the inside track”). We are familiar with many of them as they are often used in US presidential elections.

Personally, I like one of the German approaches because…well …it is so German. It seems that while beer has always been a national symbol, a mark of local pride, and a diet staple, it now have been given a new role: election indicator.

Called "Vote with Your Throat," the poll, sponsored by a local newspaper, consists of two beer taps, each one decorated in honor of an election candidate, either Schroeder or Merkel. It appears that one bar has decided to measure its patrons' thirst for change -- one beer at a time.

Planning to vote conservative? Then order a Merkel Pilsner (from the black tap). Prefer to stick to the current regime? Then, take a sip from the red tap for a Schröder Pilsner. Apparently, the volume of beer poured is digitally measured, and published daily on the paper's Web site.

At last count, the ruling Social Democratic Party (SPD) is in the lead with 1,312 liters (346.5 gallons), a fact that many are attributing to the fact that Berliners are anticipating the goodbye party for the SPD," and that many of those who ordered the Schröder Pilsner are drinking it "to drown their illusions”. Supporters of Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) on the other hand have so far only drunk 1,199 liters. Unfortunately, I can’t read German so I am not sure how the voting, or shall I say, drinking is going.

It seems that many agree with the overall assessment of the beer experiment: in the end, it may not really matter. A Merkel Pilsner and a Schröder Pilsner may come out of different taps, but they both pour the exact same beer.