German election: Home and foreign affairs

Ignas Kleden, Director Center for East Indonesian Affairs, Jakarta

It is perhaps difficult to figure out to what extent the issues of an election campaign reflect the state of affairs of real politics. However, one can safely say that what is said during a campaign reflects the political imagination of the political elite of a country. An impression of how the politics and history of Germany impinged upon each other was gathered during an 11-day trip around its towns, listening to the campaigns of the larger political parties, chief editors, scholars, senior politicians and their audiences.

Ever since Ludwig Erhard became the German chancellor (1963- 1966) and even before when he was still vice-chancellor (1957- 1963) he introduced the theory of social market economy.

This referred to two theoretical elements combined in a capitalist free market economy and a social state. The free market economy should be left to work according to economic law, to produce economic growth without being constrained by the state. The social state, however, is entitled and obliged to take care of all social problems, including those rising from the workings of a free market.

The market and industry provide employment, but it is the state which takes care of the unemployed, the homeless and the marginalized. The state must also see to it that workers are paid properly.

This conception succeeded in making Germany one of the world's wealthiest countries after World War II. No wonder that until now this political tradition has been carefully preserved, whereby every political party tries to assure followers that once they win the election this valuable legacy will be maintained and carried on.

The debate between Gerhard Schroeder from the Social- Democratic Party (SPD) and Edmund Stoiber from the Christian- Social Union (CSU) could be traced back to the above idea of the social market economy. Stoiber said repeatedly during his campaign that it was timely for Germans to vote for economic growth, considering Germany's low growth rate compared to the rest of the European Union. If growth could be pushed by just 1 percent there would be a real possibility for the creation of thousands of jobs. Here the market economy was emphasized so much so that it was assumed to be able to take care of increasing unemployment in Germany.

In contrast, the obligation of the social state was the main idea underlying Schroeder's statements. He hinted at the four million unemployed, the 600,000 immigrants who come to Germany each year to find jobs, health insurance, the numerous children who could not go to school, the 4,000 companies in the country under the threat of bankruptcy. It was the social state which was responsible for all those problems. The antinomy of the question was whether the state could solve and finance all these problems, and whether the market was willing and determined to finance social problems by means of mere economic growth.

The different standpoints raised different political programs. The Union Parties proposed a tax cut; the SDP wanted less or no unemployment; the Green Party proposed an eco-tax and the abolition of compulsory military service.

Meanwhile the Germans are still grappling with memories of the world wars and the Holocaust. The memories are closely related to what they owe to the United States in the rebuilding of their country from total ruin.

It was then a surprise when Schroeder emphatically stressed that Germany under his leadership would not join U.S. military action against Iraq, even if that action was supported by the United Nations. This was welcomed by many young people who did not want to see Germany involved in another war. However, the memory of what the U.S. did for Germany after the World War II, particularly thorough the Marshall Plan, was raised by Stoiber of the Christian-Social Union, who said Germany should go along with the U.S. to war, in line with the common commitment to western countries, particularly to the U.S., as far as security matters are concerned.

Surprisingly or not, the two political options were rooted in the country's political history since World War II.

However, Germany's obsession with its western alliances seems so deeply embedded that it does not allow room to look beyond the west-to-west alliance. I was really curious about what the German politicians would say about German political attitude toward my part of the world, the third world. Now that the second world of socialist countries does not exist anymore it is more appropriate to talk about North-North and North-South dialog.

Both Stoiber and Schroeder did not say a single world about the third world, this at a time when globalization has become a key word in political parlance or academic discourse. Only Joschka Fischer from the Green Party said something about the third world, saying that this part of the world could be ignored if one had to think of a sound environment.

Germany's domestic problems derive mainly from the question of the social market economy, whereas its foreign policies are still embedded in the memory of the world wars, as well as what it owes to the western alliance, particularly the U.S. Thus one cannot expect much of a progressive attitude from the government toward the Southern countries, regardless of which party and which coalition rules the country.

One lesson here is that Southern countries should never believe in the generosity of the North. They should be more assertive in articulating their own interests, more articulate in speaking up about their own goals, while trying to redefine their own position in the world. This position should be defined in such a way that goes beyond the "triple role" dictated so far by the Northern countries: a market for industrial goods, a target for political violence or a place of spare natural resources for the world's sound and livable environment.

Dr. Ignas Kleden was one of 12 social scientists from 12 countries invited by the German Service for Academic Exchange (DAAD) to observe the last stage of preparations for Germany's recent general elections.