Berlin

THE WEATHER THIS TIME OF YEAR in Germany’s capital is quite lovely. In the early evening of September 16, dark clouds bear down heavily on the city, the air is brisk, and the temperature is in the upper 50s. It’s drizzling. And yet a large crowd has gathered at Berlin’s Gendarmenmarkt to celebrate the last preelection rally of the Social Democratic party. “Trust in Germany” reads the sign behind the stage. “Courage is in the left” the posters tell me. Every red balloon bears the words Frauen für Schröder (women for Schröder). A series of musical acts attempts to warm up the crowd but most of the faces remain glum. I ask Annette, a self-described government bureaucrat, why she is voting for the SPD on Sunday.