  levchenko-vm-vestnik-2026-1.pdf |
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- Between disengagement and rapprochement: relations between the CDU and the Greens in Germany in the 1980s and 1990s.
- Levchenko M.V. Between disengagement and rapprochement: relations between the CDU and the Greens in Germany in the 1980s and 1990s. Vestnik of Kostroma State University, 2026, vol. 32, no. 1, pp. 64–71. (In Russ.) https://doi. org/10.34216/1998-0817-2026-32-1-64-71
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.34216/1998-0817-2026-32-1-64-71
- УДК: 323.1(430)
- EDN: XHELRA
- Publish date: 2026-01-12
- Annotation: This article examines the development of the relationship between the CDU and the Greens in Germany in the 1990s. From the outset, conservatives believed that the Greens would not evolve beyond protest movements and would not become a classic parliamentary party. They saw their only benefit in using the Greens’ political slogans to broaden their political platform and increase their electoral base. In the CDU’s understanding, the Greens were meant to attract some SPD voters and eliminate the FDP’s monopoly on coalition building. The Greens’ disdain for the Christian Democratic Party’s top leadership was not well-received by the party’s lower echelons. This, contrary to popular belief about the Greens’ ineffectiveness, led to successful cooperation and coalition formation at the municipal level. Contrary to popular belief, the Greens had transformed themselves from an anti-party environmental movement to a fully-fledged parliamentary party in just ten years, thereby posing a threat to the political structure of the Bonn Republic. This, in turn, forced the Bundestag’s major parties to abandon their opposition to the Greens and begin seeking common ground for future coalitions. In the article, the author concludes that the Christian Democrats’ top leadership underestimated the new party’s potential, which had far-reaching consequences for the country’s political landscape.
- Keywords: CDU/CSU, Greens, Alliance 90/ Greens, SPD, FDP, Bundestag, Helmut Kohl, Joschka Fischer.
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