Not the first time: when coalitions fail
Published: Wednesday, Nov 6th 2024, 23:20
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Coalition collapses and government crises characterized the early years of the young Federal Republic. German chancellors have repeatedly lost coalition partners in the past. A look back at the turbulent years of government.
1955: Loss of the majority - Adenauer's coalition in crisis
On July 11, 1955, seven members of the Bundestag from the GB/BHE (All-German Block/Bund der Heimatvertriebenen und Entrechteten), including Ministers Waldemar Kraft and Theodor Oberländer, resign from Chancellor Konrad Adenauer's (CDU) Federal Government due to an internal party dispute. This was due to differences over the Saar Statute and economic policy demands vis-à-vis the CDU/CSU.
The resignation weakens Adenauer's coalition and leads to the loss of the two-thirds majority in the Bundestag. The "Kraft-Oberländer Group", which had left, later joined the CDU/CSU and remained a permanent member of the parliamentary group from February 1956.
1956: FDP leaves Adenauer's cabinet
On February 23, 1956, the so-called "Euler Group" splits from the FDP parliamentary group. Differences of opinion about Adenauer's pro-Western policies and a planned electoral law reform intensify tensions with the FDP's internal "Dehler wing". Shortly afterwards, the remaining Liberals also leave the CDU/CSU coalition, leaving the Chancellor in charge of the government. The "Euler Group" forms its own parliamentary group and later founds the "Free People's Party".
1962: The "Spiegel Affair" - An article with political consequences
The "Spiegel affair" puts the government around Adenauer under considerable pressure. On October 26, 1962, the offices of the news magazine "Der Spiegel" were searched in Hamburg and Bonn in the middle of the night and leading editors such as editor-in-chief Rudolf Augstein and publishing director Hans Detlev Becker were arrested. The accusation: an article allegedly revealed military state secrets. Defense Minister Franz Josef Strauss comes under fire for his involvement in the arrest of deputy editor-in-chief Conrad Ahlers in Spain.
As a result, five FDP ministers resign in protest in November 1962. The FDP sets conditions for a new coalition: Strauss must give up his office and the Chancellor must go. As a result, the FDP and CDU agree on December 11 to work together again under Adenauer, who makes way for Ludwig Erhard (CDU) in October 1963.
1966: End of the Erhard era - The FDP leaves the coalition again
The coalition of CDU/CSU and FDP under Chancellor Erhard falls apart in October 1966. Economic differences and Erhard's indecisive course lead to a break: FDP ministers Scheel, Mende, Dahlgrün and Bucher leave the government. One month later, Erhard's chancellorship comes to an end. His successor Kurt Georg Kiesinger (CDU) leads a grand coalition of CDU/CSU and SPD until the 1969 federal elections.
1982: The constructive vote of no confidence
In September 1982, the social-liberal coalition of SPD and FDP under Helmut Schmidt (SPD) collapses due to differences over the economy and foreign policy. After the resignation of four FDP ministers, the Chancellor is able to hold on for another two weeks without a parliamentary majority. The FDP decides to break with the SPD and regroup - this time with the CDU/CSU. Helmut Kohl (CDU) seizes the opportunity and submits a constructive vote of no confidence in the Bundestag: Parliament rejects Schmidt and elects Kohl as the new chancellor - a turning point that ushers in a conservative era in Germany.
2005: Red-Green prematurely at an end - Schröder calls for new elections
Following poor election results in North Rhine-Westphalia and growing dissatisfaction, Chancellor Gerhard Schröder (SPD) surprisingly seeks a new election in 2005: He calls a vote of confidence, loses it intentionally and thus enables an early ballot. The subsequent election victory of the CDU/CSU ended the red-green era that had lasted since 1998, followed by the second grand coalition in the history of the Federal Republic. CDU leader Angela Merkel is elected Chancellor by the Bundestag in November 2005. She is the first woman to hold this office in the Federal Republic.
©Keystone/SDA
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