Quick update on the German political mess. First, Franz Müntefering has confirmed he’s still going to take up his seat as Minister for No. Second, the SPD has picked Matthias Platzeck, the minister-president of Brandenburg, as its leader. Third, the CSU has apparently fallen out with Edmund Stoiber after his decision to not join the government. Andrea Nahles has said she won’t be general secretary, so Hubertus Heil, an MP from Niedersachsen, will take the job whose loss to Nahles precipitated the crisis.
What it all means is unclear (although one of the FDP folk has been talking about resurrecting the so-called Jamaican option, which will not happen). But if they can’t elect a government by November the 22nd, there will almost certainly be more elections.