Map of the Day: The German Election & the Pull of History

Andrew Sullivan deciphers the above map:

One of the most remarkable features of the two Obama victories was how close the states he lost were to the member states of the Confederacy. There were a few mismatches, but it was hard to ignore that power of historical forces on the vote for the first African-American president. In Germany, too, here’s the map of Berlin’s election in 2013, courtesy of the FT (registration required) . . . The old Berlin Wall is in black. Notice how the former Communist, and still economically laggard, east (purple) still votes left, while the gentrified, formerly West Berlin votes right. The miracle? The West and the right are now led by a native woman of the East. And the beat goes on.

Blue signifies the Christian Democratic Union, led by Merkel. Green is the Green Party.  And purple is The Left party.

Steve Clowney