Germany after the Grand Coalition. Governance and Politics in a Turbulent Environment

10.1057/9780230115415preview - Germany after the Grand Coalition, Edited by Silvia Bolgherini and Florian Grotz

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Germany after the Grand Coalition

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EUROPE IN TRANSITION: THE NYU EUROPEAN STUDIES SERIES

The Marshall Plan: Fifty Years AfterEdited by Martin Schain

Europe at the Polls: The European Elections of 1999Edited by Pascal Perrineau, Gérard Grunberg, and Colette Ysmal

Unions, Immigration, and Internationalization: New Challenges and Changing Coalitions in the United States and France

By Leah Haus

Shadows Over Europe: The Development and Impact of the Extreme Right in Western Europe

Edited by Martin Schain, Aristide Zolberg, and Patrick Hossay

Defending Europe: The EU, NATO and the Quest for European AutonomyEdited by Joylon Howorth and John T.S. Keeler

The Lega Nord and Contemporary Politics in ItalyBy Thomas W. Gold

Germans or Foreigners?Attitudes toward Ethnic Minorities in Post-Reunification GermanyEdited by Richard Alba and Peter Schmidt

Germany on the Road to Normalcy? Politics and Policies of the First Red-Green Federal Government

Edited by Werner Reutter

The Politics of Language: Essays on Languages, State and SocietyEdited by Tony Judt and Denis Lacorne

Realigning Interests: Crisis and Credibility in European Monetary IntegrationBy Michele Chang

The Impact of Radical Right-Wing Parties in West European DemocraciesBy Michelle Hale Williams

European Foreign Policy Making Toward the MediterraneanBy Federica Bicchi

Sexual Equality in an Integrated Europe: Virtual EqualityBy R. Amy Elman

Politics in France and EuropeEdited by Pascal Perrineau and Luc Rouban

Germany after the Grand Coalition: Governance and Politics in a Turbulent EnvironmentEdited by Silvia Bolgherini and Florian Grotz

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Germany after the Grand Coalition

Governance and Politics in a Turbulent Environment

Edited by

Silvia Bolgherini and Florian Grotz

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GERMANY AFTER THE GRAND COALITION

Copyright © Silvia Bolgherini and Florian Grotz, 2010.

All rights reserved.

First published in 2010 byPALGRAVE MACMILLAN®in the United States—a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC,175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.

Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world, this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS.

Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world.

Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries.

ISBN: 978– 0– 230– 62285– 2

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Germany after the grand coalition : governance and politics in a turbulent environment / edited by Silvia Bolgherini and Florian Grotz.

p. cm.—(Europe in transition : the NYU European studies series) ISBN 978–0–230–62285–2 (alk. paper) 1. Coalition governments—Germany. 2. Political parties—Germany.

3. Germany—Politics and government—1990– I. Bolgherini, Silvia. II. Grotz, Florian.

JN3971.A58G468 2010320.943—dc22 2010016441

A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library.

Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India.

First edition: December 2010

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Printed in the United States of America.

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Contents

List of Tables vii

List of Figures ix

Acknowledgments xi

List of Abbreviations xiii

Notes on Contributors xv

Introduction: The Grand Coalition 2005–2009—a Single Episode or a Turning Point? 1Silvia Bolgherini and Florian Grotz

Part I The Legacies of the Grand Coalition

1 New Possibilities or Permanent Gridlock? The Policies and Politics of the Grand Coalition 15Reimut Zohlnhöfer

2 Toward a New German Federalism? How the 2006 Constitutional Reform Did (Not) Change the Dynamics of the Federal System 31Julia von Blumenthal

3 Multilevel Party Politics during the Grand Coalition: Electoral Outcomes at Länder Level 49Silvia Bolgherini and Florian Grotz

4 Still the Driving Force of European Integration? The EU Policy Pursued by the Grand Coalition 69Gisela Müller-Brandeck-Bocquet

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vi ● Contents

Part II The Federal Elections of September 27, 2009

5 A Post-Modern Campaign? The Sleepy Development to the 2009 Federal Election 89

Giorgia Bulli

6 The Choice for Stability: The Results of the 2009 Federal Election 107Mario Caciagli

7 An Electorate on the Move: Explaining Vote Choice in the 2009 Federal Election 125Bernhard Weßels

Part III The New Government and the Challenges Ahead

8 Coalition-Building in Germany 2009: Simulating Real Politics, Preparing Merkel III? 147Suzanne S. Schüttemeyer

9 A Fresh Start or More of the Same? The Domestic Policy Agenda of the Center-Right Coalition 165Roland Sturm

10 The “Grand Coalition State” between Past and Present: Continuities and Discontinuities of a Changing Political System 179Gabriele D’Ottavio

Conclusion: The Long Shadow of the Grand CoalitionFlorian Grotz and Silvia Bolgherini 195

References 207

Index 225

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Tables

3.1 Timing of Länder elections, 2006–2009 563.2 Results of Länder elections during the 2005–2009 term 583.3 Länder governments and Bundesrat majorities

during the 2005–2009 term 625.1 Opinion polls by the major German research

institutes during 2009 946.1 Bundestag elections: Distribution of votes and seats,

2002–2009 1116.2 Bundestag elections: Percentages of votes and seats

by political parties, 1980–2009 1187.1 Change in parties and voting in Bundestag elections,

1990–2009 1277.2 Bundestag election 2009: District and list

mandates by party 1317.3 Bundestag election 2009: Performance of parties

in and out of government 1337.4 Bundestag election 2009: Evaluation of the

problem-solving capacity of parliamentary parties 1347.5 Vote transfers from Bundestag election

2005 to 2009 1377.6 An evaluation-driven model of vote choice in

the 2009 Bundestag election—logistic regressions 1388.1 Building federal governments in Germany,

1949–2009 1518.2 Angela Merkel’s Second Cabinet (as of December 2009) 159

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Figures

6.1 Bundestag elections: Distribution of votes, 1949–2009 1106.2 Bundestag election 2009: First and second votes

by political parties 1207.1 Ticket splitting among CDU/CSU voters and success

of the FDP 1327.2 Like-dislike scores for top candidates in the

2009 Bundestag election 1357.3 Bundestag election 2009: Contribution of

evaluations of problem-solving capacity, leadership, and past performance to vote shares increase 140

8.1 Organizational structure of the coalition negotiations 2009 153

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the Istituto Carlo Cattaneo in Bologna, Italy, and its Editorial Board members for launching this project and asking us to make it real; Palgrave Macmillan /

New York, and Martin Schain (NYU) for including this book in their Europe in Transition series; the anonymous referees who reckoned this enterprise worth carrying out; and our editorial assistant, Robyn Curtis, for her readiness in covering all technical details.

A special thanks goes to Bernardo Parrella for his final proofreading, to Leuphana University Lüneburg for its administrative support, and to Michele Scotto di Carlo for his help in editing and indexing the manu-script. We are also grateful to Friedrich Tönnies and Giulio Citroni for their generous assistance.

Finally—and most of all—we would like to thank each and every contributor for promptly accepting to work on this project and for their kindness in delivering their essays “on short notice” after the September 2009 federal election.


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Abbreviations

CEC Commission of the European CommunitiesCEO Chief Executive OfficerCDU Christlich Demokratische Union (Christian Democratic Union)CSFP Common Foreign and Security PolicyCSU Christlich Soziale Union (Christian Social Union)DVU Deutsche Volksunion (German People’s Union)ESDP European Security and Defense PolicyEU European UnionFCC Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht)FDP Freie Demokratische Partei (Free Democratic Party)FRG The Federal Republic of Germany (Bundesrepublik Deutschland )GDR German Democratic Republic (Deutsche Demokratische

Republik)GG Grundgesetz (Basic Law)GNP Gross National ProductIGC Intergovernmental ConferenceISAF International Security Assistance ForceKOMBO Kommission zur Modernisierung der bundesstaatlichen Ordnung

(Commission for the Modernization of the Federal Order)LP Left Party (Die Linke)MdB Members of the BundestagNPD Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands (National

Democratic Party of Germany)PDS Partei des Demokratischen Sozialismus (Party of Democratic

Socialism)SED Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands (Socialist Unity

Party of Germany)SMC Single-Member ConstituencySPD Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands (Social Democratic

Party of Germany)TCE Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe

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xiv ● Abbreviations

TEU Treaty on European UnionUfM Union for the MediterraneanVAT Value Added TaxWASG Wahlalternative Arbeit & soziale Gerechtigkeit (Electoral

Alternative Labor and Social Justice)

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Contributors

Julia von Blumenthal is Professor of Political Science at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Her research focuses on questions of governance in Germany. She has published on the role of parliaments on the national and subnational level, on federalism, and on democratic accountability. Her latest books include: Das Kopftuch in der Landesgesetzgebung. Governance im Bundesstaat zwischen Unitarisierung und Föderalisierung (Baden-Baden: Nomos, 2009) and Müssen Parlamentsreformen scheit-ern? (Wiesbaden: VS, 2009; co-edited with S. Bröchler).

Silvia Bolgherini is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Naples Federico II. She has published on electoral studies, European studies, and local government. Her latest books include: Come le regioni diventano europee. Stili di governo e sfide comunitarie nell’Europa mediterranea (Bologna: Il Mulino, 2006), La politica com-parata. Strategie e ricerche (Firenze: Le Lettere, 2008; co-authored with M.Caciagli) and Unioni di Comuni (Bologna: Istituto Cattaneo, 2009; co-authored with G. Baldini et al.).

Giorgia Bulli is Adjunct Professor of Political and Electoral Communication and Analysis of Political Language at the University of Florence. Her research interests are in the fields of political parties and political communication. Among her publications: Far Right and Regionalism: Is the Lega Nord a Far Right Party? In Mapping the Far Right in Contemporary Europe: Local, national, comparative, transna-tional, ed. E. Godin et al. (Oxford: Berghahn Books, forthcoming; co-authored with F. Tronconi); La comunicazione dei partiti politici: vecchi obiettivi, nuove sfide. In Partiti politici e caso italiano, ed. L. Morlino and M. Tarchi, pp. 145–171 (Bologna: Il Mulino, 2006).

Mario Caciagli is Professor of Political Science at the University of Florence. He has been professor at the Universities of Padua and Catania and visiting professor at several European universities. He was one of

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xvi ● Contributors

the founders of the Italian Society for Electoral Studies (SISE) and is actually its honorary President. Editor of the half-yearly review on elec-toral studies Quaderni dell’Osservatorio elettorale, he has widely pub-lished on electoral history, electoral behavior and electoral systems as well as on parties, local politics and political culture in Italy, Germany and Spain. His most recent books include: Regioni d’Europa (Bologna: Il Mulino, 2006) and Il clientelismo politico (Trapani: Di Girolamo, 2009).

Gabriele D’Ottavio is Post-doctoral Researcher for Contemporary History at the University of Bologna. He is currently visiting fellow at the European University Institute in Florence. Among his publications: The Federal Republic of Germany and the dichotomy between Political and Economic Europe: from the Treaties of Rome to Maastricht. In Les deux Europes. The two Europes. ed. M. Affinito et al., pp. 237–250 (Bern: Peter Lang, 2009); Germania. In Sistemi politici comparati, ed. S. Vassallo, pp. 65–91 (Bologna: Il Mulino, 2005).

Florian Grotz is Visiting Professor for Political Science at Leuphana University Lüneburg. Before, he worked at the Universities of Heidelberg, Berlin (Free University) and Würzburg. His research interests include German government and politics, political institutions in Europe and comparative electoral systems. His most recent book is: Demokratische Regierungssysteme in Mittel- und Osteuropa (Wiesbaden: VS, 2010; co-edited with F. Müller-Rommel).

Gisela Müller-Brandeck-Bocquet is Professor of Political Science at the University of Würzburg. She has published widely in the fields of European integration, foreign and security policy of the EU, European external relations, French European Policy, German European Policy. Her recent books include: Die Afrikapolitik der Europäischen Union (Opladen: Budrich, 2007; edited), Deutsche Europapolitik. Von Adenauer bis Merkel (Wiesbaden: VS, 2010; co-authored with U. Kessler et al.) and Javier Solana 1999–2009: A strong catalyst for the European Union’s international role? (forthcoming).

Suzanne S. Schüttemeyer is Professor of Government and Policy Research at the University of Halle-Wittenberg. Since 2003 she is chief-editor of the Zeitschrift für Parlamentsfragen and was the President of the German Association of Political Science (DVPW) from 2006 to 2009. She has published on many aspects of parliamentarism and representation in Germany and Europe. Her recent publications include: Modewort oder Alarmsignal? Befunde und Überlegungen zur

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Contributors ● xvii

Entparlamentarisierung. In: Res publica semper reformanda. ed. J. Werner et al., pp. 240–253 (Wiesbaden: VS, 2008); Politische Führung im Parlament. In Aus Politik und Zeitgeschichte. 2010. 2–3: 15–22.

Roland Sturm is Professor of Political Science at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg. He has published widely in the fields of compara-tive politics, comparative public policy, political economy, European integration and German politics. Among his recent books: Politik in Großbritannien (Wiesbaden: VS, 2009), Wirtschaftspolitik kompakt (Wiesbaden: VS, 2009; co-authored with M. Müller) and Bilanz der Bundestagswahl 2009 (Wiesbaden: VS, 2010; co-edited with E. Jesse).

Bernhard Weßels is Senior Researcher at the Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung (WZB) and faculty member of the Berlin Graduate School of Social Sciences (BGSS) at Humboldt University Berlin. He has widely published in the field of comparative political behavior and attitudes, interest intermediation and political representa-tion. His recent books include Wahlen and Wähler (Wiesbaden: VS, 2009; co-edited with O. Gabriel and J. W. Falter), and Die Bundestagswahl 2005 (Wiesbaden: VS, 2009; co-edited with F. Brettschneider and O. Niedermayer).

Reimut Zohlnhöfer is Professor of Comparative Public Policy at Otto-Friedrich-University, Bamberg. Previously, he has worked at the Center for Social Policy Research, Bremen, the University of Heidelberg and the Center for European Studies, Harvard University. His research interests include German politics, the comparative analysis of fiscal policy-making and political economy. Among his recent books: Globalisierung der Wirtschaft und finanzpolitische Anpassungsreaktionen in Westeuropa (Baden-Baden: Nomos, 2009) and Die Große Koalition 2005–2009 (Wiesbaden: VS, 2010; co-edited with C. Egle).

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INTRODUCTION

The Grand Coalition 2005–2009—a Single Episode or a Turning Point?


The Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) has always been praised as a stable and successful democracy (Wolfrum 2006). The Basic Law (Grundgesetz), originally created as a provisionary

constitution for West Germany in 1949, survived the reunification of both German states in 1990 without major changes and most recently celebrated its sixtieth anniversary (Schwarz 2009). The FRG’s govern-mental system produced policy outcomes that until the 1980s were quite remarkable in international comparison (Schmidt 1987; Grotz 2009a). During the last two decades, however, this overall positive pic-ture has gradually changed after it became evident that reunification and European integration were seriously challenging the German model of governance. Since then the same system that was praised for its dem-ocratic stability and policy performance has been increasingly more and more criticized for its inability to design and implement necessary reforms (Hesse 2003; Green and Paterson 2005b).

Germany’s “gathering crisis” seemed to culminate in the outcome of the 2005 federal election (Miskimmon et al. 2009). For the first time since 1949, neither of the two catch-all parties (Volksparteien)—the Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU1) and the Social Democrats (SPD)—could win a parliamentary majority with their “natural allies,” the Liberals (FDP) and the Greens, respectively. As a consequence, the CDU/CSU and SPD formed a Grand Coalition government under Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU). In contrast to the first federal executive of the two Volksparteien that was in power from 1966 to 1969,

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2 ● Silvia Bolgherini and Florian Grotz

the Grand Coalition formed in 2005 was neither the parties’ nor the citizens’ preferred choice but was rather perceived as a last option to build a stable cabinet (Egle and Zohlnhöfer 2010). Therefore, instead of being associated with any spirit of reform after its inauguration, the Merkel government was considered as doing “business as necessary” (Thaysen 2006b, 607). At the same time, many observers believed that the political standstill would last beyond 2009, since a continuation of the Grand Coalition seemed to be without alternative under the pres-ent party system (Jun 2009b, 179).

Four years later these initial concerns have not materialized. In terms of policy-making, the Grand Coalition did not lead to a com-plete deadlock, while receiving quite respectable marks, especially for its positive handling of the repercussions of the worldwide economic and financial crisis in 2008–2009 (Zohlnhöfer and Egle 2010). In this regard, even former Chancellor Schröder validated his successor with a “f lawless crisis management” (Die Welt, June 22, 2009). And, what is more, the CDU/CSU-SPD government did not give way to a steady-state. The outcome of the September 2009 federal election allowed the Christian Democrats to form, just a few weeks later, a government with the Liberals—the same coalition that has ruled the FRG most of the time since 1949—again under Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Can we assert that the 2005–2009 Grand Coalition has been just an atypical episode after which Germany returned on the “road to nor-malcy” (Reutter 2004)? Or has it had a lasting impact on domestic poli-tics and policies beyond the 2009 election? The initial evaluation of the new government points to the latter: after more than 100 days in office the CDU/CSU-FDP alliance certainly does not look like the “dream team” announced by its members during the 2009 electoral campaign and the ensuing coalition negotiations. On the contrary, there has hardly been a federal government in which political discrepancies between the chancellor and the vice chancellor emerged as clearly as in the relation-ship of Angela Merkel and Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle (FDP) during their first months in office (Bannas 2010). Apart from the fact that Germany is still coping with the consequences of the most severe economic downturn since World War II, the serious disputes within the CDU/CSU-FDP government might also testify to the specific legacy of the Grand Coalition and the substantially changed political context that led to its formation.

Against this background this book offers a differentiated survey of cur-rent developments in German politics. It provides a retrospective of the 2005–2009 Grand Coalition, an analysis of the 2009 federal election, as



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Introduction ● 3

well as an account of its political consequences. This introductory chap-ter will give a comprehensive overview of the FRG’s institutional setting, followed by an analysis about its changed functioning and performance in the post-unification environment. We will then elaborate on the main characteristics of a Grand Coalition and its potential implications for contemporary politics and policies in Germany. A brief outline of the entire book concludes this introduction.

The Federal Republic as a “Semisovereign State”

According to Arend Lijphart (1999), modern democracies can be organized in two fundamentally distinct ways. The majoritarian (or Westminster) model of democracy concentrates political power in the hands of a bare majority of citizens, whereas the consensus model is based on inclusiveness, power-sharing, and compromise between differ-ent societal groups. Although neither of these models exists anywhere in its pure form, the FRG combines majoritarian and consensus- democratic elements in an idiosyncratic manner.

On one hand, the Basic Law provides for a parliamentary system in which the head of government (chancellor) holds a prominent position. S/he nominates the cabinet ministers, sets the general policy guidelines (Richtlinienkompetenz) and may only be deposed by a “constructive” motion of no confidence in which a new candidate for chancellor-ship must receive an absolute majority in the parliament (Bundestag). Furthermore, since the 1950s West Germany saw the evolution of a bipolar party system with an extremely high concentration of votes on the two catch-all parties, leading each of them to seek power without the other party (Lehmbruch 2000, 37–44). Voters in federal elections had to choose between a Christian Democratic and a Social Democratic camp with their respective chancellor candidates. This bipolar struc-ture of party competition, together with the power concentration in the chancellorship, provided the German system with an apparently majoritarian imprint.

On the other hand, policy-making in the FRG has never been char-acterized by open confrontation like in Westminster democracies, but by high inclusivity and constant moderating as a result of consensus-oriented institutional arrangements. Such arrangements include a mixed-member electoral system that produced extremely proportional outcomes since the early 1960s, thus forcing the winning parties (even with 45–48 percent of the votes) to form coalition governments anyway (Nohlen 2009, 331–337). Moreover, a complex structure of checks and



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balances has reinforced this governance by consensus. German chancel-lors and their cabinets have always been confronted with a multitude of “co-governing forces” (Schmidt 2008). For the sake of comprehensive-ness, we should mention the most prominent among these “veto play-ers” (Tsebelis 2002): the Federal Council (Bundesrat) and the Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht).

Within the German federal order, the main share of legislative competences is concentrated at the national level (Bund), while the states (Länder) are mainly responsible for implementing federal laws. Nevertheless, the Länder retain an essential role in federal decision-making via the Bundesrat. This unique kind of second parliamentary chamber comprises Länder government representatives, and each Land is assigned three to six seats according to the size of its population. In the legislative process the Bundesrat has an extraordinarily strong posi-tion: its consent is constitutionally required for about half of the federal laws, including most “key policy decisions” (Beyme 1997). Therefore, the Bundesrat emerges as a powerful veto player—especially if it is dom-inated by the opposition parties in the Bundestag. Such constellations of “divided government” have hardly led to open party political con-f licts, let alone permanent blockades of federal policy-making (Sturm 2001). In any case, they have severely restricted the federal government’s room for maneuvering because it had to anticipate the opposition’s veto potential in the Bundesrat and adjust its proposed legislation in advance (Manow and Burkhart 2004).

The maneuvering room of German governments has also been con-fined by the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC)—one of the most powerful and active constitutional courts worldwide (Stone Sweet 2000; Hönnige 2007). The Basic Law provides citizens, opposition parties and other actors with broad opportunities to bring action before the FCC (Schmidt 2007, 229). Since its establishment in 1951, the Court has constantly pronounced path-defining judgments in nearly all key policy areas, including foreign affairs and European integration, the division of power between Bund and Länder, party finance, fiscal policy, social and family policies, etc. In so doing, the FCC has inf luenced policy-making in Germany far beyond its individual rulings, because federal governments had to consider any draft law in terms of how the FCC would react in a potential judgment.

Despite the executive dominance within a bipolar party system, the political power in Germany has been “tamed” by a broad range of actors and institutions. This is the reason that inspired Peter Katzenstein (1987) to label the FRG as a “semisovereign state.” More than addressing



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Introduction ● 5

West Germany’s limited role on the international stage during the Cold War, Katzenstein pointed to the fact that actually the domestic policy was determined by incremental outcomes, well apart from any incum-bent federal government. However, “semisovereignty” did not neces-sarily mean a structural shortcoming. On the contrary, as Katzenstein convincingly argued, the FRG’s polity produced extraordinary policy outcomes— although such performance was possible only under the con-dition of a relative homogenous, “centralized” society, which existed in West Germany until the late 1980s.

The German Model under Pressure

German unification and European integration have fundamentally changed the just described environment of the semisovereign state, challenging it under several respects. In terms of policy outcomes, a unified Germany performed considerably worse than before (Green and Paterson 2005a, 9–11). Economic growth slowed while unemployment rates rose to heights never seen during the post-World War II period. Welfare expenditures increased rapidly, with a negative impact on labor costs and, consequently, on the entire Germany as a location for busi-ness within the EU Internal Market and the global economy. Moreover, the disastrous socioeconomic state of the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) required huge transfer payments to the Eastern regions, which were financed by a mixture of higher taxes and public debt expansion (Wagschal 2006). In this situation, structural policy reforms were urgently needed—rather than incremental change, which the semisovereign state had traditionally produced until that moment.

At the same time, the political decision-making process became increasingly complex. The addition of five Eastern Länder to the previ-ous eleven2 brought about a significant change in intergovernmental relations. Given the huge socioeconomic disparities between East and West, the goal of “uniform living conditions” that was enshrined in the Basic Law and formed the raison d’être of Germany’s “unitary feder-alism” (Hesse 1962) could hardly been maintained. Serious disputes emerged especially between richer and poorer Länder in regards to costs and benefits of social equity policies. Such environment opened the way to a new “competitive federalism” (Jeffery 2005) in which the necessary consensus among the Länder governments on major policy issues was much more difficult to achieve.

Furthermore, the reunification led to structural changes within the national party system. During the 1980s a “two-bloc” party system had



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emerged, with one catch-all party and one smaller party on either side of the political spectrum: the CDU/CSU and the FDP (Black-Yellow) on the right and the SPD and the Greens (Red-Green) on the left. After 1990, however, a new force entered the stage: the post-communist Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS)3, successor of the GDR state party, which held its electoral strongholds in the Eastern Länder and was reg-ularly represented in the Bundestag. This issue not only increased the fragmentation of the party system, but also altered its dynamics, since the PDS was considered as “non-coalitionable” by all other parties. In this way, the two-bloc system subsequently transformed into a “f luid five-party system” (Niedermayer 2008) in which a parliamentary major-ity for either bloc could not be taken for granted anymore. In fact, the federal elections held in 1994 and 2002 reconfirmed, respectively, the Black-Yellow coalition under Kohl and the Red-Green coalition under Schröder with a tight majority—just slightly amplified by some dis-tinct effects of the electoral system.4 Therefore, the “enforced” Grand Coalition under Angela Merkel derived not so much from the unique circumstances of the 2005 general election, but was rather a structural result that could have easily happened before.

Last but not least, regional asymmetries in the German party system have considerably grown since 1990 (Detterbeck and Renzsch 2008). While the CDU/CSU and the SPD remained the strongest forces in all state parliaments, the PDS was successful only in the East where the FDP and the Greens turned out to be much weaker than in the West. The increased heterogeneity of Länder party systems also resulted in a greater variety of respective coalition governments. This situation again affected federal governance insofar as those Länder executives compris-ing exclusively federal government parties were the minority rather than the majority in the Bundesrat. As a result, divided government in uni-fied Germany became more a rule than an exception.5

The radically changed environment of the semisovereign state has dramatically increased the pressure for structural policy reforms, while at the same time decreasing the decision-making capacity of the German political system. Consequently, a public demand for overcoming the “policy blockage” was accompanied by a similar demand for substantial institutional reform.6 These latter calls aimed primarily at disentan-gling the “interlocked” federal order, especially by providing the Länder with more legislative autonomy and reducing the Bundesrat veto powers (Scharpf 2009, 27–67).

Against this background the Schröder government embarked on major reforms during its second term (2002–2005), addressing both



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Germany after the Grand Coalition. Governance and Politics in a Turbulent Environment

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