Germany 2005 Flashcards
What is the threshold to be entitled to representation
5%
What are the advantages of such a low threshold?
Gives electors the opportunity both to vote for their party and thereby contributing to its total regional support.
Whilst also voting for a particular candidate they may favour from a different party
What are the difficulties of using additional member system in Germany and possibly the UK? (Miskimma, 2009)
Some consituencies would end up having 2 or maybe 3 MP’s whereas others would only have 1. This leads to more issues. MP’s would also possibly have no connection to the LA they were allocated to so theres no accountability etc.
What was the grand coalition in germany of 2005?
SDP and CDU/CSU
How did the social democrats appear to the Catholic and middle class voters after the coalition? (Miskimma, 2009)
More acceptable
What happened to Schroder’s chancellorship by September 2005 and why?
It ended because people didn’t like him and felt he handled the economy badly.
What time periods allowed the formation of minimal winning coalitions? (Miskimma, 2009)
1961 and 2005
What do Kitschett (2009) suggest about how globalisation affects electoral politics?
Globalisation increased the strive for national party systems as it decreased the need for them. But also, that the winners and losers of globalisation are getting “embedded” in the two major party beliefs.
What are the characteristics of the FDP? (Dan Hough, 2009)
Mainly middle to upper class party aka posh boi party
Supported a vote of no confidence in the Bundestag
The rise of the greens has pushed the FDP into the arms of the CDU/CSU
What are the characteristics of the Greens? (Dan Hough, 2009)
They are a left par-t
Pacifist
Ecofriendly and libertarian agenda
Originally had a big opposition to the conventional parties
very left as they had very liberal drug policies lol
now the greens are considered a very very serious party because of the realist green party (realo) and it explains how there was the spd-green coalition between 1998 and 2005
What are the characteristics of the PDS/Left party? (Dan Hough, 2009)
They changed their name in 2005 as they were reflecting how the Germany party system has changed over the past few years too
They were very popular in Eastern Germany but now acceptable by the West too
What are the characteristics of the Far Right? (Dan Hough, 2009)
“one of the longstanding worries of the mainstream German parties is that one of the 3 main far right parties (namely, the DVU, republicans or National Democrats will poll enough votes to enable them to enter federal parliament”
How did the DVU poll in the Bundestag in 2005?
6%
How did the NDP poll in the Bundestag in 2005?
9.2%
How did small parties in Parliament stand in 2005 and why? (Dan Hough, 2009)
FDP - 9.8% - focused on where Schroder failed, free market policies
Left - 8.7% - Oskar Lafantame, the SPD’s previous chancellor and finance minister who was a clever bloke
Green - 8.1%
NDP 1.6%
