On the Horns of a Dilemma. The Imperative of a Grand Coalition Is Risky--Especially for the Social Democrats (Essay‪)‬

The grand coalition earns broad approval in the polls. But it is unlikely to find sustainable solutions to the major problems it was formed to tackle. For the coalition partners are under pressure to burnish their escutcheons for the upcoming Bundestag election. Coalition compromises are a risky matter, particularly for the Social Democrats (SPD) in the present situation. As a result, coalition policy is reduced to the lowest common denominator. Grand coalitions are the exception in Germany. Prior to 2005, the only instance was in West Germany, the old Federal Republic, between 1966 and 1969. The Free Democrats (FDP) had abandoned the coalition with the Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU), the labour market was hit by a crisis for the first time, and qualified parliamentary majorities were needed to pass emergency powers legislation. Having adopted this legislation, having implemented the "concerted action" and major financial reforms under then Minister of Finance Karl Schiller, and having prepared the ground for the first change of government in the history of the Federal Republic to bring a shift in political direction, the first grand coalition is usually considered to have been a success, although the commonalities appeared to have been exhausted after three years. Can the second grand coalition hope for such success?