Getting creamed just as bad as/even worse than their rival grand coalition counterparts CDU in three German regional elections held yesterday, Germany’s Social Democrats (SPD) now expect to clean up big time at the big time national election to be held here on September 27.

His party losing votes even more convincingly than usual, this time in Saarland, Saxony and Thuringia, SPD chancellor candidate Frank-Walter Steinmeier is said to be absolutely thrilled to death already and just made a phone call to ex-boss ex-Chancellor Gerhard Schröder’s not-yet-ex-wife Doris Schröder-Köpf to ask her about how best to re-drape the Chancellery.

“A comedian for chancellor? Why not, Germans think.”