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

by S. Bolgherini (Editor), F. Grotz (Editor)

Overview

In Germany, Grand Coalitions of the two major parties - the Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) and the Social Democrats (SPD) - generally have a bad reputation. Hence, the CDU/CSU-SPD government under Angela Merkel (2005-2009) was neither the parties' nor the citizens' preferred choice, its performance was seen quite critical from the outset, and it was finished without further ado after the 2009 federal election. Has the Grand Coalition 2005-2009 been a single episode or rather a turning point for German politics? This book provides a retrospective of the first Merkel government, an analysis of the 2009 election and an account of its prospective consequences.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780230622852
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan US
Publication date:	01/19/2011
Series:	Europe in Transition: The NYU European Studies Series
Edition description:	2010
Pages:	248
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

SILVA BOLGHERINI Assistant Professor for Political Science, Faculty of Sociology, University of Naples Federico II, Italy.

FLORIAN GROTZ Pro tempore Chair for German Government and Politics, Leuphana University Lüneburg, and Adjunct Professor (Privatdozent) for Political Science, Free University of Berlin, Germany.

Table of 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? Silvia Bolgherini Florian Grotz 1

Part I The Legacies of the Grand Coalition

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

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

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

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

Part II The Federal Elections of September 27, 2009

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

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

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

Part III The New Government and the Challenges Ahead

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

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

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

Conclusion: The Long Shadow of the Grand Coalition Florian Grotz Silvia Bolgherini 195

References 207

Index 225

Editorial Reviews

"This is an excellent collection of first-rate scholarly analyses of German politics and major domestic and EU government policies before and especially during the Grand Coalition of 2005-2009 and the chancellorship of Angela Merkel. It also covers the issues and results of the 2009 election and offers some preliminary and trenchant assessments of the new CDU/CSU-FDP coalition and the challenges faced by this surprisingly contentious combination of political "allies." Wide-ranging but thorough and informative contributions to the literature on German politics from 2005 to 2010." - Arthur B. Gunlicks, Professor of Political Science, Emeritus, University of Richmond, VA

"If you want to find out all the ins and outs, advantages and disadvantages, peculiarities and generalities, genealogies and legacies of Germany's most recent GRAND COALITION, this is your book! In an array of insightful and informative essays, the erudite authors succeed to enlighten us about this odd, yet also quite normal, system of governance. I recommend this book to scholars of Germany, Europe and comparative politics as a whole." - Andrei S. Markovits, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor and

Karl W. Deutsch Collegiate Professor of Comparative Politics and German Studies,

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

"The book gives an in-depth and authoritative assessment of the legacies of the second Grand Coalition experiment in Germany, the campaign and outcome of the federal election of 2009, and the challenges of the Christian Democratic-Liberal coalition in office since 2009. Germany after the Grand Coalition is an essential reading for everyone interested in the political mechanisms which drive present day s politics and policy in Germany." - Manfred G. Schmidt, Professor in Political Science at the University of Heidelberg

From the Publisher