David Broughton

The 1996 länder elections in Baden‐Württemberg, Rhineland‐Palatinate and Schleswig‐Holstein: The ebbing of the tides of March?

This article analyses the three state elections of March 1996 in Baden‐Wurttemberg, Rhineland‐Palatinate and Schleswig‐Holstein in the context of both the political history and traditions of each Land in turn as well as the national political context in which they took place. These elections served to strengthen the hand of the Bonn coalition of the CDU–CSU and FDP, eliminating in the process the risk to its slim majority in the Bundestag. The most immediate and fundamental questions arising from these three election results concern the SPD. The main problem for the party is the lack of a credible strategy based on a clear sense of what the SPD stands for today.

Frozen in the Centre, Melting at the Edges?1 The Landtagswahlen in Hesse and Lower Saxony, January 2008

It is rare that two Land elections, taking place on the same day in neighbouring Western Länder, both run by the CDU (in a coalition with the FDP in one), provide such sharp contrasts in both campaigns and outcomes as the Land elections in Hesse and Lower Saxony in January 2008. This election note draws out these contrasts and sets the results in the wider context of their potential impact on the ‘long campaign’ towards the next federal election scheduled for autumn 2009.

The first six länder elections of 1999: Initial electoral consequences and political fallout of the Neue Mitte in action

This article examines the six regional elections that took place in Germany between February and September 1999 (in Hesse, Bremen, Brandenburg, Saarland, Thuringia and Saxony respectively) to illustrate the different contexts conditioning Gerhard Schröders political problems and the initial performance of his SPD‐Green federal coalition. The conclusion suggests that Schroder may have been temporarily blown off course by the regional electoral losses in 1999, but it is far too soon to write off his chances of winning a second term in office in 2002. In particular, he has every chance of success if he can develop a credible and common language of modernisation which he then effectively ‘connects’ with the overall acceptance of the need for socio‐economic change amongst the German people.

The Welsh Assembly election of 2003: the Triumph of ‘welfarism’

Abstract This article briefly covers some of the main events of the first legislative period of the Welsh Assembly between 1999‐2003, then examines the Assembly election campaign and the election results in 2003, before drawing some general conclusions about the current state of Welsh politics. The further decline in turnout in 2003 compared to 1999 is examined. Doubt is cast on whether technical improvements in the political process such as postal voting or e‐voting will, by themselves, reverse the current downward trend in turnout. More attention needs to be given to key questions of the ‘performance’ of parties and politicians in Wales.

The welsh devolution referendum 1997

The 1997 referendum on Welsh devolution was necessary to legitimise a controversial policy. In the event just over 50% of those who voted backed the policy on a turnout of just over half of the Welsh electorate.

The first Welsh assembly elections, 1999

With the labour Party unexpectedly having to form a minority administration, it remains to be seen whether the Assembly will deliver the ‘new politics’ of devolution or a dull dawn for Wales.

Seconds Out for the Second Round: The Landtagswahl in Hessen, January 2009

The ‘second round’ of the Hessen Landtagswahl was held in mid-January 2009 and was necessitated by the deadlocked outcome of the ‘first round’ held less than a year earlier. The failure of two attempts by the SPD to displace the CDU ‘caretaker’ administration ensured that new elections were the only remaining credible option. The outcome of the 2009 elections overcame this previous deadlock. We need however to be cautious about extrapolating from this particular result to the forthcoming federal election in late September. The nature of partisan competition within the Hessen party system is unique to the Land, and carries little substantive importance outside it.