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Four more years to get it right – Germany after the elections

© Glenn Brigaldino

German voters went to the polls on September 22, to elect a new parliament. The elections turned out to be the closest call ever in the reunited country. At the end of a long election night the governing social democrats (SPD) and the challenging conservative union were tied at 38.5% of ballots cast. The conservatives (CDU/CSU) appeared to be off to an early lead and for a while it seemed they were set to regain power with their coalition partners from the past, the free democrats (FDP). But as the late votes came in and results were tallied, the initial lead of the conservatives luckily slipped away. Schroeder and his SPD edged ahead with the help of their Green party coalition partners, and secured an 11-seat lead over the resurgent right (see picture). It was a close call indeed, especially as the ruling coalition had been trailing in the pre-election polls for a long time. Public opinion slightly swung in favour of the Schroeder government in the wake of its competent handling of the August flooding crisis. The recent discourse with the USA over an aggressive policy stance towards Iraq saw Germany openly disagreeing with any form of pre-emptive military action. The political backbone demonstrated in riding out this international storm also helped to secure additional voter support for the social democrats. Still, these two events were not enough to compensate for the disillusionment of many voters with Schroeder and his party: when the votes were in, the SPD had lost 2.4% compared to the results of 1998. The political showdown was won by the gains made by the Green coalition partner, eased by the failure of the PDS to into parliament and by the SPD winning a handful of additional seats due to its stronger performance in the voting district as compared to its percentage showing.

For most Germans internal issues dominated and determined their voting choice. Although recent international issues did play a role in the final days of the campaign and the way the Schroeder Government handled them was largely perceived favorably, the domestic challenges turned the election into a head-to-head race. Many voters were undecided right up to the polling booth. The close contest between SPD and Conservatives shows, how polarized voters were over which policies the Federal Government should embrace. Unemployment topped the voter's agenda: the inability of the ruling coalition to get noticeable numbers of the 4 million unemployed back to work hurt the SPD badly. The party lost about a million voters to the conservatives, another half a million to its partner in arms, The Greens. Only the strong showing of voter support for The Greens, who reached their best parliamentary result ever, allowed the ruling coalition to maintain a majority of seats. A majority slimmed from 21 to 9 seats. Surprisingly few commentators dwelled on the further decline in voter turn out. At 79.1% (down from 82.2% in 1998) it has now fallen to another record low. More Germans today don't vote, as do vote for The Greens, FDP and PDS combined.

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