scholarly journals The 2017 German federal election success of the Alternative for Germany party: a challenge to the party system of Germany?

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-15
Author(s):  
Ekaterina Timoshenkova ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Party System ◽  
Federal Election ◽  
Alternative For Germany

The Left Party and the AfD

2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 70-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Olsen
Keyword(s):  
The State ◽  
Vote Share ◽  
The Political ◽  
Federal Election ◽  
Eastern Germany ◽  
Main Culprit ◽  
Left Party ◽  
Protest Voters ◽  
Alternative For Germany

In the 2017 German Federal Election. The Left Party (Die Linke, or LP) saw its vote share in eastern Germany seriously erode. The main culprit behind the LP’s losses was the Alternative for Germany (AfD): 430,000 voters who cast their ballots for the LP in 2013 voted for the AfD in 2017. Why was this the case? This article suggests that the AfD in 2017 was able to attract protest voters, largely in eastern Germany, dissatisfied with the state of democracy and the political establishment in Germany who once voted for the LP. The LP and AfD have become eastern German populist competitors.

The ‘Alternative for Germany’: The rise of right-wing populism at the heart of Europe

Politics ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 295-310 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Lees
Keyword(s):  
European Integration ◽  
Party System ◽  
German Society ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Alternative Für Deutschland ◽  
Electoral Support ◽  
Right Wing Populism ◽  
Strong Performance ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Alternative For Germany

This article charts the rise of the ‘Alternative for Germany’ ( Alternative für Deutschland or AfD) from its inception in late 2012 to its unexpectedly strong performance in the 2017 Federal election. In terms of the ‘inward’ aspect of Euroscepticism, the article considers the impact of the emergence of successively more hardline leaderships in 2015 and 2017, which led to a shift beyond opposition to aspects of the European integration process to a more profound critique of German society and politics. In terms of the ‘outward’ aspect, it assesses the significance of these developments in the wider debates around Euroscepticism and populism. The article concludes that the AfD’s Euroscepticism is now nested within an ideological profile that increasingly conforms to the template of an orthodox European right-wing populist party. It argues that the widely unanticipated level of electoral support for the AfD in the 2017 Federal elections and its status as the main opposition party in the Bundestag is a systemic shock and potential critical juncture in the development of the German party system and the contestation of European integration in the Federal Republic.

Continuity and Change in the 1993 Canadian General Election

1996 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 555-566 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mikael Antony Swayze
Keyword(s):  
Party System ◽  
National Level ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
Party Systems ◽  
General Election ◽  
Complex Relationship ◽  
Regional Data ◽  
Federal Election ◽  
Continuity And Change ◽  
Novel Approach

AbstractThis research note considers the complex relationship between the electoral and party systems in Canada from 1921 to 1993. By drawing on Douglas Rae's theoretical model, the note demonstrates that the electoral system exerts a powerful influence on the party system and makes the case that important regional information is often washed out in national-level results. Furthermore, a novel approach is taken to the measurement of regional data in a federal election—a comparison of the indices of fragmentation of the regions and the country provide an interesting explanation for some of the stunning changes in parliamentary representation in 1993. In interpreting the 1993 Canadian general election in this framework, the author argues that although the results in parliament seem to indicate momentous changes in Canadian politics, the voting patterns are, nonetheless, consistent with Canadian political history.

The Grand Coalition: Precedents and Prospects

2006 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ludger Helms
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Party System ◽  
Grand Coalition ◽  
Coalition Government ◽  
Federal System ◽  
System Reform ◽  
Federal Election ◽  
Federal Level ◽  
Angela Merkel ◽  
Basic Parameters

While the Federal Republic has been famously characterized as a "grand coalition state," the Merkel government, formed in the after-math of the 2005 federal election, is only the second CDU/CSU-SPD coalition at the federal level since 1949. A comparison of the present administration with the first grand coalition government (1966-1969) reveals a wealth of differences that include some of the basic parameters of governing and governance in Germany, such as the structure of the party system and the overall public climate. Also, the personnel features and patterns of informal coalition governance under Chancellors Angela Merkel and Kurt-Georg Kiesinger display major differences. Arguably the single most important difference between the two administrations, however, relates to the level of public policy, with the Merkel government seeking to reverse some of the key decisions of its historical predecessor. Such u-turn dynamics have been particularly tangible in the field of federal system reform.

Coalition Politics in Crisis?

2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 5-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Decker ◽  
Philipp Adorf
Keyword(s):  
Political Party ◽  
Party System ◽  
The Political ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Social Democrats ◽  
Federal Election ◽  
Coalition Politics ◽  
Political Party System ◽  
Right Wing Populism ◽  
First Time

The 2017 federal election illustrated the transformation of Germany’s political party system with six parties managing to enter the Bundestag. With the Christian and Social Democrats finally coming to an agreement almost half a year after the election, a grand coalition is set to govern for two consecutive terms for the very first time. The Alternative for Germany’s success also signaled the definite parliamentary establishment of right-wing populism in Germany. Multiparty coalitions that bridge ideological gulfs as the political fringe has grown in size are a new reality that must be accommodated. The 2017 election and subsequent arduous negotiations point towards a period of uncertainty and further upheaval for Germany’s party system.

Small Parties and the 2013 Bundestag Election: End of the Upward Trend?

2014 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 26-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
David F. Patton
Keyword(s):  
Party System ◽  
Election Campaign ◽  
Upward Trend ◽  
Federal Election ◽  
To Come ◽  
And Performance ◽  
First Time

In the 2009 German federal election, the small parties together captured 43.2 percent of the vote; three small parties boasted a result in the double digits. Four years later, none of the small parties finished above 8.6 percent and only two reentered the Bundestag. Notably, the FDP, one of the original West German parties, dropped out of the federal parliament for the first time. Yet, any talk of catch-all party revival and party system concentration needs qualification. As a group, the small parties received nearly a third of all votes cast—the second highest share in six decades. Those that did not make it into the Bundestag won 15.7 percent, a higher share than in any other federal election. This article examines the positioning of the leading small parties in the 2013 Bundestag election campaign and their respective electoral results; highlights party systemic as well as internal party factors to explain small party performance; reassesses the commonplace classification of small parties by whether there is an established legislative presence or not; and considers the positioning and performance of small parties in the years to come.

A New Blue-collar Force

2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 29-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philipp Adorf
Keyword(s):  
Working Class ◽  
Welfare State ◽  
Party System ◽  
Blue Collar ◽  
Nation State ◽  
Social Democrats ◽  
German States ◽  
The Social ◽  
Alternative For Germany ◽  
The Welfare State

Within a mere five years, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) has established itself in the German party system. During the same period, however, it has undergone a significant ideological transformation as well. Initially regarded as a direct competitor to the small-government Free Democrats, the AfD has since adopted the tried-and-tested electoral approach of other rightwing populist actors by embracing welfare chauvinist positions, linking the survival of the welfare state to that of the nation state. In doing so it has made substantial inroads into the blue-collar electorate, in some German states even overtaking the Social Democrats as the preferred choice of the working class.

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