Bundestagswahl '98 End of an Era?

The German general election of 1998 brought to an end 16 years of Christian-Liberal government under Helmut Kohl, ushering in the first red-green coalition in a major west European country. Reflecting far-reaching changes in economic and social life, this upheaval in the electoral landscape signals a political reorientation which will have major consequences for Germany in the new millennium. This book provides an analysis of electoral change against the background of the changing anatomy of Germany society.

The German general election of 1998 brought to an end the 16 years of Christian-Liberal coalition and ushered in Europe's first left leaning-green coalition. This book presents an analysis of electoral change in modern Germany.

Social change and the electorate - an analysis of the 1998 Bundestagwahl, Wolfgang Gibowski; economic conditions and the 1994 and 1998 federal elections, Jurgen Maier and Hans Rattinger; the East German vote in the 1998 general election, Cornelia Weins; parties, leaders and issues in the news, Holli A. Semetko and Klaus Schonbach; the boundaries of stability - the party system before and after the 1998 Bundestagswahl, Stephen Padgett; changing party organizations in Germany - how to deal with uncertainty and organized anarchy, Elmar Wiesendahl; luck and good management - Helmut Kohl as Parliamentary and electoral strategist, Peter Pulzer; coalition politics and management in the Kohl era, 1982-98, Thomas Saalfeld; the red-green coalition, Charles Lees.