1949: Kurt Schumacher (SPD-CSP) [1]
1953: Jakob Kaiser (CSP-SPD)
1957: Jakob Kaiser (CSP-DDP-VP) [2]
1961: Ludwig Erhard (CSP-VP) [3]
1965: Ludwig Erhard (CSP-VP)
1969: Rainer Barzel (CSP-DDP) [4]
1973: Willy Brandt (SPD-KPD) [5]
1975: Fritz Thielen ("Liberal Democratic Transitional Government" DDB/DVB - originally DP) [6]
1976: Fritz Thielen DDB/DVB-Zentrum) [7]
1977: Helmut Schmidt (SPD-DDP-CSP) [8]
1981: Helmut Schmidt (SPD-DDP-CSP) [9]
1984: Helmut Schmidt (SPD-DDP-USPD) [10]
[1] After negotiations for a united party for northern protestants and southern catholics fail, the southern catholics form their own party. After the first elections in the FRG, an SPD-CSP coalition is formed.
[2] Despite cordial relations between the two coalition partners, the Chancellor turns to the new German Democratic Party and the agrarian People's Party to form a new government
[3] With his health failing, Kaiser decided to forgo participation in the 1961 Federal Election, allowing his Minister of Economics, Ludwig Erhard to gain the reins of power. Erhard managed to increase his party's standing in the Bundestag, allowing him to dump the DDP and instead work with the Volks Partei. The first term of his premiership would see the creation of the North Atlantic Free Trade Area, a trading bloc that would include Britain, Ireland, Canada, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and the United States as well as his native Germany.
[4] The exercise of power weakens Ehrard over time and forces him to let his foreign minister Barzel succeed him in the chancellery. The latter implements the "Westpolitik", a doctrine of rupture in inter-German relations. The country builds his own identity by looking to the west and is actively moving away from its eastern neighbour. It leads to a break with the VP and its pan-German elements. Frankfurt am Main becomes the federal capital.
[5] The double whammy of the Oil Crisis of 1972 and generic CSP fatigue leads to a landslide victory for a far-left government.
[6] Acts of resistance and civil disobedience soon steeply rose, soon followed by violent far-right nationalist terrorism in the wake of mass demonstrations against the KPD. But what few expected was, after an Anerkennungsvertrag ("Treaty of Recognition") was concluded in Weimar (East Germany) and, at least in some circles, hailed as a "monumental peace treaty", much of the German population believed it to be an act of "selling our soul, our democracy and the chance of reunification to Moscow and the commies". Riots and even bigger demonstrations - and even some terrorist attacks against mainly KPD, but also SPD, party offices, trade unions, but also against anything to do with cooperation with East Germany - shook cities from Stuttgart to Hamburg and towns from Passau to Aurich. As a supposed "concession", Brandt asked the Vertrauensfrage, with the intention of a defeat,- but several CSP and even four DDP MdBs voted for Brandt. However, with the Guillaume affair and the apparent bribes to some representatives of the DDP by East Germany coming to light, Brandt once again asked the Vertrauensfrage. But this time, unbeknownst to most, the military and a Deutsche Demokratische Bewegung (DDB) had taken control of Bonn. On September 11, 1975, two CSP and a VP delegate voted for Brandt. The governmental buildings were stormed in what could only be called a popular-supported coup d'état, and the Freiheitlich-Demokratische Übergangsregierung (approx. "Liberal Democratic Transitional government") was formed of several senior military officers and high-ranking DDP and VP, not to forget remnant Zentrum and DP, politicians. Officially it is led by the Deutsche Demokratische Bewegung and Deutsche Volksbewegung, the two leading groups that were opposing the far-left government on the streets.
[7] "Democracy" back; with supervised elections; the outcome assured.
[8] The Thielen Putsch almost immediately provoked a domestic and international crisis of unprecedented proportions, bringing the world extremely close to nuclear war. Much of the domestic left saw the overthrow by the military and right-wing parties as a resurrection of the Third Reich, and as a result even moderate centre-left politicians and trade union leaders called for mass protests as well as a general strike. The German economy found itself immediately crippled by a near complete shut-down of the manufacturing sector as well as public sectors. Nor was the international community please-both US President Humphrey and UK Prime Minister Callaghan refused to recognize the new government and demanded the immediate release of Brandt as well as other arrested politicians. The Soviet and DDR reacted even more aggressively, proclaiming the revenge of the German Deep State and immediately cut off all access to West Berlin while placing its military forces on the highest level of alert. Political violence reached unprecedented levels and in the Bloody Autumn, some 300 people were killed by far right or far left armed groups. By early November, moderate elements of the Bundeswehr had reasserted themselves, pushing out the more radical officers. Eventually Thielen and other coup plotters were forced to step down and promptly arrested, before a bureaucratic caretaker government was appointed by President Scheel, headed by Helmut Schmidt the leader of the right-wing faction of the SPD who had always opposed the Treaty. Brandt seceded and created his own Independent SPD, recalling the USPD of fifty years before. However, Schmidt's mainstream SPD along with other centrist pro-democratic parties won in a landslide in the elections of December 1977 forming a stable majority.
[9] The Wiederaufbaukoalition is returned to power. The government of national unity is focusing on three areas: cleaning up German democracy, rebuilding a sense of national unity and restoring Germany's credibility in the international stage. To do so, the promise of drafting a real constitution that should be approved by the people has been made and negotiations are slowly beginning under the Western allies eyes.
[10] The CSP withdrew its support as the feeling grows that regional interests are being ignored in the new draft constitution. Early elections are scheduled, and while support for left parties remains high, Schmidt is forced to form a Vereinigte-Linke Koalition with the USPD. For how long can the left really stay united with a new constitution on its way and Willy Brandt back with a seat at the table?
1953: Jakob Kaiser (CSP-SPD)
1957: Jakob Kaiser (CSP-DDP-VP) [2]
1961: Ludwig Erhard (CSP-VP) [3]
1965: Ludwig Erhard (CSP-VP)
1969: Rainer Barzel (CSP-DDP) [4]
1973: Willy Brandt (SPD-KPD) [5]
1975: Fritz Thielen ("Liberal Democratic Transitional Government" DDB/DVB - originally DP) [6]
1976: Fritz Thielen DDB/DVB-Zentrum) [7]
1977: Helmut Schmidt (SPD-DDP-CSP) [8]
1981: Helmut Schmidt (SPD-DDP-CSP) [9]
1984: Helmut Schmidt (SPD-DDP-USPD) [10]
[1] After negotiations for a united party for northern protestants and southern catholics fail, the southern catholics form their own party. After the first elections in the FRG, an SPD-CSP coalition is formed.
[2] Despite cordial relations between the two coalition partners, the Chancellor turns to the new German Democratic Party and the agrarian People's Party to form a new government
[3] With his health failing, Kaiser decided to forgo participation in the 1961 Federal Election, allowing his Minister of Economics, Ludwig Erhard to gain the reins of power. Erhard managed to increase his party's standing in the Bundestag, allowing him to dump the DDP and instead work with the Volks Partei. The first term of his premiership would see the creation of the North Atlantic Free Trade Area, a trading bloc that would include Britain, Ireland, Canada, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and the United States as well as his native Germany.
[4] The exercise of power weakens Ehrard over time and forces him to let his foreign minister Barzel succeed him in the chancellery. The latter implements the "Westpolitik", a doctrine of rupture in inter-German relations. The country builds his own identity by looking to the west and is actively moving away from its eastern neighbour. It leads to a break with the VP and its pan-German elements. Frankfurt am Main becomes the federal capital.
[5] The double whammy of the Oil Crisis of 1972 and generic CSP fatigue leads to a landslide victory for a far-left government.
[6] Acts of resistance and civil disobedience soon steeply rose, soon followed by violent far-right nationalist terrorism in the wake of mass demonstrations against the KPD. But what few expected was, after an Anerkennungsvertrag ("Treaty of Recognition") was concluded in Weimar (East Germany) and, at least in some circles, hailed as a "monumental peace treaty", much of the German population believed it to be an act of "selling our soul, our democracy and the chance of reunification to Moscow and the commies". Riots and even bigger demonstrations - and even some terrorist attacks against mainly KPD, but also SPD, party offices, trade unions, but also against anything to do with cooperation with East Germany - shook cities from Stuttgart to Hamburg and towns from Passau to Aurich. As a supposed "concession", Brandt asked the Vertrauensfrage, with the intention of a defeat,- but several CSP and even four DDP MdBs voted for Brandt. However, with the Guillaume affair and the apparent bribes to some representatives of the DDP by East Germany coming to light, Brandt once again asked the Vertrauensfrage. But this time, unbeknownst to most, the military and a Deutsche Demokratische Bewegung (DDB) had taken control of Bonn. On September 11, 1975, two CSP and a VP delegate voted for Brandt. The governmental buildings were stormed in what could only be called a popular-supported coup d'état, and the Freiheitlich-Demokratische Übergangsregierung (approx. "Liberal Democratic Transitional government") was formed of several senior military officers and high-ranking DDP and VP, not to forget remnant Zentrum and DP, politicians. Officially it is led by the Deutsche Demokratische Bewegung and Deutsche Volksbewegung, the two leading groups that were opposing the far-left government on the streets.
[7] "Democracy" back; with supervised elections; the outcome assured.
[8] The Thielen Putsch almost immediately provoked a domestic and international crisis of unprecedented proportions, bringing the world extremely close to nuclear war. Much of the domestic left saw the overthrow by the military and right-wing parties as a resurrection of the Third Reich, and as a result even moderate centre-left politicians and trade union leaders called for mass protests as well as a general strike. The German economy found itself immediately crippled by a near complete shut-down of the manufacturing sector as well as public sectors. Nor was the international community please-both US President Humphrey and UK Prime Minister Callaghan refused to recognize the new government and demanded the immediate release of Brandt as well as other arrested politicians. The Soviet and DDR reacted even more aggressively, proclaiming the revenge of the German Deep State and immediately cut off all access to West Berlin while placing its military forces on the highest level of alert. Political violence reached unprecedented levels and in the Bloody Autumn, some 300 people were killed by far right or far left armed groups. By early November, moderate elements of the Bundeswehr had reasserted themselves, pushing out the more radical officers. Eventually Thielen and other coup plotters were forced to step down and promptly arrested, before a bureaucratic caretaker government was appointed by President Scheel, headed by Helmut Schmidt the leader of the right-wing faction of the SPD who had always opposed the Treaty. Brandt seceded and created his own Independent SPD, recalling the USPD of fifty years before. However, Schmidt's mainstream SPD along with other centrist pro-democratic parties won in a landslide in the elections of December 1977 forming a stable majority.
[9] The Wiederaufbaukoalition is returned to power. The government of national unity is focusing on three areas: cleaning up German democracy, rebuilding a sense of national unity and restoring Germany's credibility in the international stage. To do so, the promise of drafting a real constitution that should be approved by the people has been made and negotiations are slowly beginning under the Western allies eyes.
[10] The CSP withdrew its support as the feeling grows that regional interests are being ignored in the new draft constitution. Early elections are scheduled, and while support for left parties remains high, Schmidt is forced to form a Vereinigte-Linke Koalition with the USPD. For how long can the left really stay united with a new constitution on its way and Willy Brandt back with a seat at the table?
