Political Opposition in the Era of the Grand Coalition (2005–09)

Abstract

Political parties in opposition have a number of possible strategies open to them. They may look to act as policy pushers, stressing the government's apparent neglect of a set of core issues that they hold dear. They may act as strategic opponents, opposing the government's agenda wherever possible, but not opposing the system within which it is embedded. Alternatively, they may choose to be a more obstructionist force, attempting to both delegitimise the government and the broader political system. The parliamentary parties in opposition to the Grand Coalition in Germany have adopted all three of these approaches to varying degrees and with varying rates of success.

Notes

Indeed, in 2004 former General Secretary of the SPD, Franz Müntefering, famously commented to those in his own party who were supportive of the idea that being in opposition might be good for the SPD; ‘to those who don't want to govern, I say to you just one thing; being in opposition is shit!’ See ‘Streit in der SPD; ‘Opposition ist scheisse!’, Der Spiegel, 9 Feb. 2004, available from http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/0,1518,285507,00.html

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Although for an alternative view of this see C. Lees, ‘The German Party System(s) in 2005 – a return to Volkspartei dominance’, German Politics 15/4 (2006), pp.361–75.

See O.W. Gabriel, B. Weßels and J.W. Falter (eds), Wahlen und Wähler. Analysen aus Anlass der Bundestagswahl 2005 (Wiesbaden: VS Verlag, 2009).

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See declarations from the Party Executive on Afghanistan published on 7 July 2007, 25 Aug. 2007, 13 Oct. 2007, 6 July 2008, 17 Oct. 2009, all available at http://die-linke.de/politik/aktionen/bundeswehr_raus_aus_afghanistan/

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Some members of the LP's executive have backgrounds that either genuinely straddle the east/west divide or they were born abroad and have only joined the LP in relatively recent times.

‘FDP stellt Steuersenkungen hintenan’, Der Spiegel, 17 May 2010, available at http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/0,1518,695304,00.html