Politics after Adenauer Flashcards
When was Erhard Chancellor? What party?
1963-66
CDU
When was Kiesinger chancellor? What party?
1966-69
CSU
When was Brandt chancellor? What party?
1969-74
SPD
When was Schmidt Chancellor? What party?
1974-82
SPD
When was Kohl Chancellor? What party?
1982-98
CDU
What happened during Erhard’s chancellorship?
He further developed Adenauer’s atlanticist policies
What Foreign policy did Kiesinger’s chancellorship pursue?
A shift towards Ostpolitik- Rejecting the Hallstein doctrine and working with the GDR
What did rising opposition under Kiesinger’s chancellorship push him to do?
It pushed the government to be more repressive- The Emergency law 1968 was passed through the Bundestag (The SPD had previously strongly objected to the proposed legislation)
What foreign policy direction did Brandt’s SPD/FDP coalition government pursue? What was the outcome of this?
He pushed ahead with the policy of Ostpolitik, which remained a policy of FRG governments until 1989. Brandt’s commitment to the policy was met with serious opposition in the Bundestag, as were several more liberal measures his government passed.
What liberal measures that Brandt passed precipitated opposition?
-Decriminalisation of Homosexuality
-Reducing the voting age to 18
What party worked hard to undermine Brandt’s SPD/FDP coalition?
CSU
What happened between 1970 and 1972?
Several FDP and SPD members joined the CDU and forced a ‘constructive vote of no confidence’ on Brandt and Ostpolitik.
How much did the 1970 constructive vote of no confidence fail by in the Bundestag?
2 votes
How did Brandt respond to the ‘constructive vote of no confidence’?
He called a general election and his party the SPD, won the most seats
What was discovered about Brandt’s government in 1974?
1974- That one of Brandt’s advisors was a spy and he thus felt compelled to resign, despite the support of this party and others in the Bundestag
What problems was Schmidt’s government confronted with?
Domestic and Economic upheaval
What was Schmidt accused of? What was the consequence of this?
-Adopting right-wing economic measures (eg high taxation & welfare cuts)
-Faced growing opposition for his failure to pass economic policies through the Bundestag
What new political force presented Schmidt’s government with a threat?
The Green Party, which was established in 1980 following a culminating concern regarding environmental issues during the 1970’s and 1980’s
Why did Schmidt’s FDP-SPD coalition begin to fall apart?
While representatives of the left-wing of the Social Democratic Party opposed reduction of the state expenditures, the FDP began proposing a monetarist economic policy. In February 1982, Schmidt won a motion of confidence; however on 17 September 1982, the coalition broke apart, with the four FDP ministers leaving his cabinet.
When was Schmidt forced to resign?
1982; a constructive vote of no confidence in the Bundestag forced him to resign
What policies of previous governments did Chancellor Kohl further develop?
-Ostpolitik
-Economic policy
Was there political extremism under Chancellor Kohl’s chancellorship?
A sustained outbreak of terrorism directed at other governments and German institutions occurred (eg the bombing of the US airbases in Rein-Main and Frankfurt airport in 1985)
What did Kohl work for?
The unification of Germany, which seemed quite a distant prospect. However by 1989 the GDR was under increased pressure to open its borders- Jan ,1 1989 the GDR relaxed its travel restrictions
