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The small federal state Thuringia has been politically unique over the last two legislative terms in two respects: It is the only German state in which a minister president belonging to the Left Party is leading a left of center coalition government; in other states where the Left Party is participating in governmental coalitions it is always the SPD that is leading the government. And, at least since 2019, Thuringia is unique because it is ruled by a minority government of the Left Party, SPD, and Greens. This article argues that the first uniqueness is a historically contingent deviance from national patterns that can be explained by the electoral development of the Thuringian SPD. The unique type of minority government has been caused primarily by the electoral success of the AfD in Thuringia, and it might serve as a model for other federal states if coalition building becomes equally difficult. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chancellor Angela Merkel's second grand coalition (2013–2017) was the most successful federal government since 2005 regarding the adoption of anti-corruption measures. This article first gives an overview of recent German anti-corruption reforms. In order to explain the varying policy outputs of Merkel's coalition governments, an analytical perspective drawing on the multiple streams approach is utilized. This theoretical perspective is then applied to the analysis of three major anti-corruption reforms. Mainly on the basis of these case studies, the article concludes that the SPD was a crucial policy entrepreneur between 2013 and 2017. In former legislative periods, the Social Democrats could not advance their favored anti-corruption policies. But when the CDU and CSU decided not to make full use of their veto power, the spd pushed policy change through. Analyses of anti-corruption reforms should not overlook the constellations of veto players such as coalition parties and their preferred policy options. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The eighteenth Bundestag elections of 22 September 2013 brought important changes to the Bundestag party system, some of which are contingent but others of which are more syst emic and profound. The narrow failure of the FDP to scale the electoral threshold has had an impact on coalition negotiations and the improvement in the overall vote share for the CDU/CSU and the SPD, for the first time since the 1960s represents a significant, if probably only temporary, concentration of the German party system in the Bundestag. More systemically, the election saw a continuation of the ongoing redistribution of voting power in the Bundestag in favor of the catch-all parties as formateurs. The article also discusses how the increased importance of the potential formateuer parties has gone hand-in-hand with a greater focus on the individual leading candidates, and concludes that this is particularly good news for the CDU/CSU, given the political qualities of Angela Merkel and the failure of the SPD to find and support a leading candidate that can match her political acumen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses the development of Left Party/PDS-SPD coalitions in the eastern German Länder. It develops an explanatory framework based on attempts to understand how red-green coalitions came into being in the 1990s. The article concludes that red-red coalitions emerge when four basic criteria are fulfilled: the SPD has few other viable potential coalition options and believes it can gain in strategic terms; the ideological distance between the Left Party/PDS and SPD is small; and the personal relationships between Land-level leaders are good. The paper also argues that the heterogeneity of the Left Party/PDS is likely to ensure that Land-specific solutions to Land-specific coalition dilemmas are very likely to remain of significance in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines political party institutions in Germany, the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and the fall of Franz Müntefering as chairman of SPD. It reports that his fall was the consequence of a contest in the SPD Executive Committee to nominate the party's new general secretary. It adds that he was not a charismatic electoral leader, but rather an old school Social Democrat who was popular with rank-and-file members.

The article ponders on the 2005 election in Germany and the deconsolidation of the German party system. An explanation of change as the only constant factor in German election is presented. An overview of the development of the post-war party system is given. A chart is also presented that indicates the percentage of Catholics who have a strong attachment to the church.

The article addresses the structural context of the German federal election in September 2005. The limitation of variations in the institutional context of German federal politics is elaborated. The two rival principles of government that characterize the German political system are also explained including federalism and party government.

The article presents abstracts of reports on German politics and society including "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright: SPD-Left Party/PDS Coalitions in the Eastern German Länder," by Jonathan Olsen, "British-German Relations and Collective Memory," by Ruth Wittlinger and "Spying on Terrorists: Germany in Comparative Perspective," by A. James McAdams.