Berlin‐Brandenburg? Nein danke! The Referendum on the Proposed Länderfusion

Abstract

On 5 May 1996, a narrow majority of voters in Berlin voted in favour of a merger between Berlin and Brandenburg, while a decisive majority in Brandenburg voted against, causing the initiative to fail. In this article the principal arguments put forward by the leading advocates and opponents of the merger are examined. Then the results in East and West Berlin and Brandenburg are analysed in turn in an attempt to identify the primary factors which appear to have determined voting. What emerges is that subjective factors played a greater role than the objective arguments of politicians, producing a result which suggests that deep divisions continue to exist in Germany today.