Berlin – Finally, and hopefully soon, the Federal Republic of Germany will have a real three-party coalition, a government made up of three really different parties. Although three have governed so far – the union of the CDU and CSU as well as the SPD – but this is a coalition in which only two sides had to agree, as it has always been since 1957.
Hopefully the politically much more boring time of the two-party coalitions and with it the decades-long self-assurance of the former people’s parties that one of them will always lead the government, will hopefully end.
Primacy of maintaining power
In the union of Helmut Kohl and Angela Merkel, it was a trademark of their policy to first secure power for their own party. This primacy of maintaining power was often placed above the actual task of making useful politics. If necessary, the unloved grand coalitions were also entered into.
Merkel ruled three out of four times with these, and so the grand coalition model has run out of steam. That is a good thing. Because it has the drawback that two parties – even more than usual – jostle in the middle. And that there is often a great deal of unity, against which the opposition parties or other political forces try to stand out, often populist or with extreme demands. It is no coincidence that in the course of the first grand coalition from 1966 the left-wing extremist extra-parliamentary opposition of the 68ers rose and determined the discourse for a long time. When Merkel repeatedly resorted to the government model without a strong opposition party capable of governing in parliament, the right-wing extremist AfD began to fly high.
imago / Chris Emil Janßen
They negotiate: Annalena Baerbock, Olaf Scholz, Christian Lindner.
In the Merkel era, clear goals, political concepts or even visions were frowned upon. Politics no longer meant acting, but reacting. Many parties preferred to look to the zeitgeist. The clarity of the content was missing and often it was only the staff that seemed to make the difference. There was pragmatism and when there was no way out, there was talk of no alternative.
Those days are over. That does not mean that something will automatically improve now. The parties are still responsible for changes. But the chances of small changes in political culture are there. Because the zeitgeist has also changed.
Everyone is now talking about diversity – about diversity. Minorities are now also being taken more seriously. So it fits well that the time of the top dog parties is over, that in Bavaria, for example, the CSU can no longer rule alone. She has been the prime minister there since 1957 and ruled alone for 59 years. And in the federal government, there is now probably the first three-party alliance in 64 years.
More prospects for more diversity
With three parties, the prospect of more diversity is greater. Except when they are too similar and that makes for an average overall impression, like red-red-green in Berlin. In the federal government, however, three parties with different points of view meet. Regardless of whether it is about climate change, the housing issue or the debate as to whether the state should prohibit individual citizens from doing more for the good of all.
The advantage of the current constellation: With the end of the popular parties, the winners are only weak winners and can no longer determine who is allowed to govern with them as they see fit. Now the “little” kingmakers are decisive. If these three do not want to lose their reputation, they are forced to come to an agreement and, out of their differences, come up with perhaps even smarter solutions. And then they will distinguish themselves with each other, but also against each other.
Almost like in private life
Of course, negotiations with three people are more difficult. The once big parties like to moan that it is exhausting to come to an agreement with more than one party. You still seem to be secretly dreaming of sole government. But the time of sole determiners is over.
It’s like in private life: it often takes three people longer to agree on which film to watch, for example. It is much more difficult with hard political differences. It is more difficult to negotiate compromises. But the negotiators seem to understand that their ego should no longer play first fiddle.
The way the parties are dealt with is no longer the same as it was under Gerhard Schröder and Joschka Fischer: The division of roles between cook and waiter has had its day, long live political diversity. This increases the chance of an interesting negotiation result. It will be exciting – hopefully for the good of the citizens.
.