The deciding factors were the vote increases for the Green Party and the Liberal Democrats. The Greens improved their 1998 results more than expected - by 1.9%, while the FDP (Liberal Democrats) increases were less than expected – 1.2%. This was largely due to Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer’s moving his Green Party from a radical to a moderate position and the FDP Vice Chairman Juergen Moellemann’s criticism of Israel’s Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
German voters are still sensitive about the past and although many complain that any criticism of Israel is often seen as bordering on anti-Semitism, some thought Moellemann overdid it.
Those who constantly refer back to Germany’s past may have finally been silenced, however, since the combined results for the three main radical right wing parties (REP, NPD and Schill was only 1.8% and the PDS, former communists of East Germany, was only 4 %. Further proof of a moderately conservative Germany.
Those who constantly refer back to Germany’s past may have finally been silenced, however, since the combined results for the three main radical right wing parties (REP, NPD and Schill was only 1.8% and the PDS, former communists of East Germany, was only 4 %. Further proof of a moderately conservative Germany.
The difference between the Christian Democrats and the Social Democrats is more style than substance, since both groups tend to favor sound fiscal policies and gradual social reform.
What is yet to be determined is the ability of the Greens to tilt Germany further into more constructive environmental policies, such as those the nation has begun implementing, through gradual elimination of nuclear power as a source of energy.
What is yet to be determined is the ability of the Greens to tilt Germany further into more constructive environmental policies, such as those the nation has begun implementing, through gradual elimination of nuclear power as a source of energy.