A Tale of Two Parties? The Failure of the Catch-All Parties in the 2005 German Elections
| DOI | 10.1111/j.1467-9256.2006.00261.x |
| Author | James Sloam |
| Date | 01 May 2006 |
| Published date | 01 May 2006 |
| Subject Matter | Special Section: Alpine Populism |
A Tale of Two Parties? The Failure of
the Catch-All Parties in the 2005
German Elections
James Sloam
Royal Holloway, University of London
The German elections of 2005 proved a critical turning point for a number of reasons. The result
led to the fall of Gerhard Schröder’s Red-Green government, to the first ‘grand coalition’ between
the two Volksparteien (catch-all parties) since the 1960s, and to the election of Germany’s first
woman and first easterner to the job of chancellor. The election campaign saw the Christian
Democrats throw away a strong lead and lose the opportunity to govern with their preferred coali-
tion partner, the liberal Free Democratic party. The results raised key questions about the German
party system. Why did the Social Democrats and Christian Democrats achieve their lowest com-
bined score since 1949? How should we explain the success of the smaller parties? To what extent
can this be considered a lasting development? This article argues that shrinking support for the
two main parties is likely to lead to greater instability in the party system without a clear improve-
ment in the German economy.
A precarious victory
The 2005 German elections provided a narrow victory for the Christian Democrats
(CDU/CSU) over the ruling Social Democratic party (SPD). This precipitated the
departure of the German chancellor, Gerhard Schröder (SPD), from the political
scene, and signposted the end of his Red-Green government.1But – at the same
time – the arithmetic of the new assembly meant that neither of the traditional
Volksparteien (catch-all parties) could form a coalition with its preferred partner.
This ultimately led to the formation of a ‘grand coalition’ of Christian Democrats
and Social Democrats under the chancellorship of Angela Merkel (CDU). Given the
poor state of the German economy, cross-party support may be useful in pushing
through some painful reforms, but the future stability of the German party system
is very much open to question.
Germany experienced economic and political stagnation throughout the second
Schröder government (2002–2005). On the economic side, unemployment topped
the five million mark, growth remained sluggish and national debt increased.2
On the political side, the Red-Green government had embarked upon a reform
programme – ‘Agenda 2010’, launched in 2003 – aimed at boosting growth and
employment (through tax reforms and greater labour market flexibility) and con-
solidating the public finances. Policies such as the use of incentives and penalties
to get the unemployed back to work (the Hartz reforms) and the freezing of state
pensions nevertheless served to alienate the left wing of the SPD and an impor-
tant section of its support base. The Agenda 2010 reforms prompted no quick
POLITICS: 2006 VOL 26(2), 140–147
© 2006 The Author. Journal compilation © 2006 Political Studies Association
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