Germany is our most important ally on the European continent. The Germans will be electing a new Parliament on September 22, 2002. Five parties are currently represented in the Bundestag; the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), the Christian Democrat Union (CDU)/Christian Social Union (CSU), the Party of Democrat Socialism (PDS), the Free Democratic Party (FDP), and the Greens (Alliance 90). There are presently 656 members of the Bundestag. The number will be reduced to 598 for this election. Since 1998, the SPD (Social Democratic Party of Germany) has maintained a government majority under Federal Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder in coalition with the Greens. It is campaigning on its success with taxation and pension reform, higher investment in education and research, the phasing out of nuclear energy and new citizenship and immigration laws. The CDU (Christian Democrat Union) and its sister party, the CSU (Christian Social Union) were formed in 1945 and views itself as the more conservative party. They strive for guarantees and support for private property, individual liberty and real competition. The PDS (Party of Democrat Socialism) grew out of the former state party of the GDR, which changed its name in February of 1990. The PDS electoral strength is in East Germany where it has strong representation in all state Parliaments. The FDP (Free Democratic Party) campaigns on freedom, the dignity of the individual and constitutional principles. It believes in increasing citizens' responsibilities in their own affairs and in reducing the role of government. The Greens (Alliance 90) grew out of a large number of environmental and peace campaign groups and was founded in 1980. The name was changed in May 1993 to the Greens following its merger with Alliance 90, a group that was established as part of the GDR opposition movement. Since the last Bundestag election in 1998, the Greens have joined the SPD to form the ruling coalition. In their current election campaign, the Greens call themselves the party of ecological modernization.

Approximately 61.2 million Germans will be eligible to vote in the parliamentary elections on September 22nd. There are 31.9 million women, 29.3 million men and 3.3 million first-time voters. There are 21.5 million voters between 21 and 45, forming the largest group within the electorate.

The elections in Germany are different than the United States. Political parties taking part in the Bundestag elections draw up so-called state lists in which they determine which candidates they wish to send to Berlin as members of the Bundestag. Voters cast two votes in Bundestag elections, which are known as the first and second vote. The first vote determines which candidate will be directly elected in a particular constituency. The second vote is more important. Voters cast the second vote in favor of a political party, not an individual candidate. The number of second votes cast determines how many members of the Bundestag represent a particular party. Finding the winner isn't easy. These votes are combined in a formula which then determines who is going to win. The odds are that no party will get a majority. The SPD in the 1998 Bundestag election received 40.9% of the vote and CDU/CSU received 35.1% of the vote. It appears that politically neither major party can form a coalition with PDS. The PDS on foreign policy supports the abolition of NATO. It feels the United Nations should be strengthened instead of the military alliance. The party rejects any new rounds of NATO enlargement and a European Union intervention force. It is for the abolition of conscription.

The key to the election may be the FDP (Free Democratic Party). They received 6.2% of the vote in the 1998 Bundestag election compared to the 6.7% received by the Greens. They have had some recent success coming back from what some thought would be political oblivion. In Germany, there is a 5% clause which was introduced in 1953. Political parties can only enter Parliament if they gain at least 5% of the second votes cast or win 3 directly elected seats. This rule was intended to prevent the disintegration of the political landscape and to facilitate viable government majorities. In other words, the Germans are doing their best to avoid small splinter parties in the government so you don't have 15 to 20 political parties represented. For those of you interested in more specifics, here are the following web addresses: SPD - WWW.SPD.DE   CDU/CSA - WWW.CDU.DE WWW.CSU.DE   GREENS - WWW.GRUENE.DE  FDP - WWW.FDP.DE PDS - WWW.PDS-ONLINE.DE