Welcome to the New Germany - by Claus Christian Malzahn
Chancellor Angela Merkel has probably saved her chancellorship -- but the price that her conservatives will have to pay for it is high. The election result for the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), is lower than in 2005. Nevertheless, she can form a coalition government with the business-friendly Free Democratic Party because support for the FDP has increased in a way that until recently pollsters would scarcely have thought possible. However, the interior architecture of the new Merkel-led alliance will be fundamentally different from "black-yellow" coalitions -- the name is inspired by the parties' official colors -- of the past. In the governments of former Chancellor Helmut Kohl, it was always clear who was calling the shots, because the Christian Democrats had four or five times as many seats as their liberal junior partner. That has now changed -- perhaps forever.
In the new constellation, Merkel will hardly be able to keep the promise that she made shortly before the election, namely that in a CDU/CSU-FDP coalition she would soften any demands by the pro-free market FDP that were too radical. Given the fat majority that the Christian Democrats and the FDP have in Germany's upper legislative chamber, the Bundesrat, it looks like Merkel will be able to have a smooth ride in terms of governing -- but whether the weakened Christian Democrats will be able to set the course seems doubtful. FDP leader Guido Westerwelle will be taking the initiative in the future government. The big question is whether he can do something with the support that the voters have given him.
No comments:
Post a Comment