The History of the Political Conflict in Germany (Part I)
A look at the political history of the Federal Republic
The image above tells the story of a changing country, with the political conflict shifting in a profound way, transforming the politics of the Federal Republic in the process. It had once been defined by a clear duopolistic battle between left and right, with the two dominant parties being the CDU/CSU and the SPD.
But over the past 10 years, things began to change. While the order had already been upset in the past, this had never occurred with the severity that began now. The main development upsetting the established system right now is the rise of the far right in the form of the AfD. So let us take a look at the history of the political actors and forces which shape the Federal Republic to this day — a look back which starts 150 years ago.
The SPD from the Empire to the Federal Republic
The oldest party still active in Germany is the SPD, a party which started during the German Empire and has already faced Bismarck as a foe. Established in 1875, the SPD was instrumental in creating the political realities which made the German Empire the first large state in the world to begin with the implementation of a developed welfare state under Bismarck. Around the turn of the twentieth century, the Social Democrats managed to steadily increase their influence, reaching their peak in 1912, when they won 34% of the vote and 110 seats in the Reichstag. While remaining true to their Socialist roots in theory, they would moderate in practice, supporting the German war effort during the First World War. This led to their increasing alienation from the more revolutionary Marxist-Leninists of their era, a split which became ever more pronounced after the establishment of Bolshevism and the Weimar Republic, a state that was hated by the communists but supported by the Social Democrats who had been instrumental in its founding. Retaining their influence in the early years of the first German Republic, with the Social Democrat Friedrich Ebert serving as its first President, the SPD would see its influence wane as a global economic depression weakened the country’s foundations and put wind in the sails of the rising Nazis. After the flames of the Reichstag birthed a series of laws drastically increasing the power of Chancellor Adolf Hitler, the SPD would be the only party in the Reichstag to oppose said “Enabling Act,” after their former rivals, the communists, had already been banned from political participation. This contributed to the ban on Social Democratic participation and their increasing persecution during the “Third Reich.” This led to the establishment of a network of exiles and resistance fighters dubbed the SoPaDe (Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands im Exil). When Nazi Germany was eventually defeated and Germany divided into four sectors, the SPD should have been well set up to prosper in this new Germany. And yet it would be outmaneuvered by a new rival in the coming decades, though its historical influence would be felt in the new Germany.
The Early Federal Republic: Dominance of the Union Parties
In 1945, a new party was founded, which sought to unite multiple former parties of the Weimar Republic. These parties, combining nationalists, Catholics, and former monarchists, would unite themselves into the Christian Democratic Union, the CDU. This party would soon form an alliance with the Christian Social Union (CSU), a Christian-democratic party active in Bavaria, with the two parties becoming “sister parties” (Schwesterparteien), technically two distinct entities, but effectively acting as one.
This alliance would dominate the early politics of the Federal Republic for multiple reasons. The start of the Cold War would see the Allies be more comfortable with the staunchly anti-communist center-right parties than the nominally Marxist Social Democrats. The Social Democrats struggled with the question of how much they should stay true to their radical roots or continue on a reformist path, and specifically the question of how to deal with the Soviet Union and the state it established in the eastern parts of Germany it occupied. Konrad Adenauer intelligently exploited these advantages, following a course which prioritized clear integration into the Western alliance over entertaining the offer of unification on the part of Stalin. In conjunction with Ludwig Erhardt, his minister of the economy (who would later follow him as Chancellor), Adenauer established a “Soziale Marktwirtschaft” (Social Market Economy), building on and entrenching the legislation which Bismarck had once passed in reaction to the threat of Social Democracy.
The Return of the Social Democrats and Multi-Party Democracy
The dominance of the CDU/CSU peaked in 1957, when it reached a full 52% of the vote in that year’s federal election. Though this would have enabled them to govern on their own, they nevertheless chose to maintain the norm of coalition government, which persists to this day; with every government of the Federal Republic being made up of two or more parties. Their coalition partner of choice would be the Free Democrats of the FDP, a liberal party (liberal in the European context meaning pro-free market and usually perceived as centrist to center-right). But increasingly, the dominance of the conservative post-war consensus would be challenged. The SPD would reform itself with the Godesberger Programm, clearly tying itself to a moderate reformist direction, akin to the Fabian Socialism of the Labour Party or New Deal Liberalism. This would allow the SPD to follow in the footsteps of the Union and become a true “Volkspartei” (people’s party), a party able to unify large and distinct segments of the electorate behind it. This was reflected not just in votes but in actual membership, the SPD transforming into a truly mass movement, gaining more members than any other party in German history (the Nazi Party being the previous record-holder), still being the largest party in the Federal Republic even after its membership has been dropping for decades.
This renewed competitiveness led to the first Grand Coalition (Große Koalition), a coalition including the two largest parties. The corresponding thing in the US or the UK would be a government including both the Democrats and Republicans, or both Tories and Labour—something utterly unthinkable outside of wartime. Originally, the CDU led this arrangement, but in 1969, for the first time in the history of the Federal Republic, the SPD replaced the CDU as the largest party, with Willy Brandt leading a coalition with the FDP, who had formerly governed with the CDU but now saw an alliance with the Social Democrats as more advantageous. This would lead to a 13-year period of combined SPD/FDP rule, with the coalition holding even though the CDU would regain its position as the largest party.
Continued in Part II