The FDP and the 1980 West German Federal Election
| Author | Jane Hall |
| Published date | 01 April 1981 |
| Date | 01 April 1981 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9256.1981.tb00040.x |
| Subject Matter | Article |
THE
FDP
AilD
THE
1920
HEST
GEF?!!AN
FEDERAL
ELECTIO!
JANE
HALL
The West German Federal election on
5
October 1980 was preceded by an exceptionally
personalised and polemical campaign in which two political heavyweights, Helmut
Schmidt and Franz Josef Strauss, were vying for the Chancellorship. While the
two main parties concentrated on throwing abuse
at
each other, however,
the
smallest parliamentary party, the liberal FDP, ran off with
the
election prize.
At
a
time
when
the FDP's survival
was
in question, and
its
ability to find a
secure position in the party system and establish
a
clear identity in doubt,
its
triumph
is
a
reflection both
of
the role of the FDP in
the
party
system
and
of the mood of the electorate in favour of moderation and against change.
The
FDP
and the
West
German party system
The contraction of the
West
German party system after 1945 from a multi-party
to
a
three-party system proved
an
exception to the thesis that
the
West
European party
systems
in
the
1960s reflected! the divisions of the 1920s
(Lipset and Rokkan, 1967, p
20).
The development in
West
Germany
was
a
result
of
changes in social and political conditions brought about
by
the Third Reich,
war,
post-war occupation
and
Allied policy (L,oewenberg, 1978). An additional
factor was the five per cent clause, whereby a pary must obtain five per cent
of
the
vote to obtain parliamentary representation, which had the effect of
eliminating the smaller parties.
The
success of the Union alliance of the Christian Democratic Union and Christian
Social Union (CDUfCSU)
as
the first 'catch-all' party
in
West
Germany led the
social democratic SPD to promote policies aimed at widening
its
basis of support.
This process,
while
not leading entirely to the end of ideological differences
(Kirchheimer, 1966), did promote a convergence of both major parties towards
the centre and agreement between
them
on
a
ranged issues (cf Feist
et
al, 1978).
The
FDP thus emerged
as
the
smallest
party in
a
three-party
system.
However,
with
neither major party able to achieve an aibsolute majority (except in 19571,
the FDP plays
a
strategically
important role as
the
crucial factor enabling one
or the other of the major
parties
to
form a government.
This
pivotal role,
around which the party system turns, maintains the 'centrality' of the
West
German party
system
(Smith, 1976,pp 395-397), for
it
is
to the FDP and
its
position in the centre
of
the
party spectrum that both major parties have
to
turn in order to win power.
Until 1966 the FDP entered into coalitions as the liberal corrective to
the
Union alliance,
with
the
core of
its
support coming from the self-employed,
farmers and Protestants,
In
opposition durin,g the Grand Coalition government,
1966-1969, the FDP underwent
a
transformation and left-wing
liberals
took over
the leadership from
the
more conservative right wing.
with
the SPD in 1969 and fought both
the
1972 and 1976 elections
as
the
liberal
corrective to
the
SPD.
Its
votes from the
old
middle class fell away,
while
its
support from urban white-collar workers,
the
new middle class, increased.
Despite this transformation,
the
FDP has been unable to maintain a
stable
position
within
the
party
system
and since 1949
it
has gradually
lost
influence both
at
Federal and Land
levelsll
The party formed a coalition
The
FDP
since
the
last
election
After
the 1976 election the FDP's position
was
influenced by two factors:
firstly,
a
loosening-up' strategy initiated by FDP leader
Hans-Dietrich
Genacher,
whereby the FDP moved towards
a
more flexible position
in
its
coalition policy
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