1 - 1999

The New German Goverment

Dialoque

 


 

Editorial

After 16 years the Kohl era in the Federal Republic of Germany came to an end in autumn 1998. At the federal election on September 27th the Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) had to accept an avalanche of losses across the country and their worst results since 1949. They received a total of 35.1% of the votes, nearly 7% less than in the last federal election four years ago. Their partner in the coalition, the Liberals (FDP), also lost support, but with 6.2% of the vote they could nonetheless jump the 5% hurdle and are again represented in the German parliament, the Bundestag. CDU and FDP recorded their greatest vote losses in the new states.

The Social Democratic chancellor candidate, Gerhard Schröder, appeared on the contrary as the beaming winner. His party (SPD) achieved 41.4% of the vote. The Green party (Bündnis90/DieGrünen) reached 6.7%. Social Democrats and Greens together have 345 seats in the German Bundestag and thereby control the majority of the parliamentary seats.

In the coalition discussions both partners in the government could quickly agree on common guidelines in ecological and economic as well as foreign policy issues. Foremost goal of the new government under Chancellor Schröder is the reduction of unemployment, the economic modernisation of the country and abandonment of nuclear energy in the long term.

In foreign policy the Social Democrats and Greens want to continue the deepening and extension of the European Union, the cooperation of the whole of Europe in the OSCE, according to the coalition contract. Furthermore the coalition agreement provides for the controlled disarmament of all nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. German foreign and development policy should support the safeguarding of human rights as well as sustainable development in all the countries of the South" and accord the politics of peace special importance. Schröder’s government wants in particular to relieve the least-developed countries in the Third World financially through a proposal for debt reduction to be presented at the G 8 summit in June of this year in Cologne. The next edition of Ecumenical Dialogue will report in detail about the debt reduction discussion in Germany.