On September 23, Germans will vote in the country's general elections. The following background information is abridged from a paper presented to the conferences of the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies and The American Council on Germany by Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) leader ANDRÉ BRIE.
Eastern Germany — the five new states formed during the final months of the German Democratic Republic's existence, and the eastern part of Berlin — is where just under 20% of Germany's population live.
Even after eight years of unification there are considerable social, economic, cultural and political differences between the western and eastern parts of the Federal Republic of Germany. The prediction by the German government in 1990 that the conditions in eastern Germany would become like those in the west within a few years has not come true.
Following a far-reaching de-industrialisation of eastern Germany after unification, there were several years when the output in the east rose faster than that in the west. In the meantime, growth in the eastern German economy has slowed down so that the gap between the two partial economies is widening again.
The official unemployment rate in eastern Germany is twice that in the west, wages are 20% lower, average working hours are longer, yet prices are the same.
The understanding amongst the west German political elite of the continued existence of political and cultural differences, and widespread discontent in eastern Germany is low.
Politics is the field where the east is diverging very much from the west.
The Free Democratic Party and the Alliance 90/The Greens play a rather marginal role in eastern Germany compared to the west, and the Social Democratic Party (SPD) still has very few members.
The PDS, in contrast, has 100,000 members in the east, and its voters are almost only in the east. The PDS has only 2500 members in the west, where it is not even known to a large section of the population and scores accordingly in elections.
In 1994, the PDS attracted a national vote of 4.4%, — 20% in the east and 1% in west Germany and west Berlin. It was able to get into the Bundestag despite the 5% clause [the minimum vote required to claim a seat] because it took four constituencies in east Berlin.
A nationwide review carried out by the Berlin INFO opinion poll institute for the PDS four months ago revealed that, if elections were held that week, the PDS would score 4.4% of the second vote in the west. Another 1.2% would at least cast their first vote, (i.e. that for the candidate of the constituency), for the PDS, and yet another 1.7% thought it was the most effective representative of their interests. In other polls, the PDS scored 5-6% in the west, an improvement on 1994.
According to the review, there is a considerable, but contradictory desire for change in politics and society amongst the population.
Hardly anyone believes that things can or will remain the same in society. The times of stable conditions, of satisfaction with the status quo, have been over in the west, too, since the early '90s. Mass unemployment and the crisis of the public purse, the tax system and the welfare state, make the need for reform clear.
However, the picture is extremely ambivalent. Since the majority accepts the option that changes must accommodate business, one can conclude that people are more ready for sacrifice and compromise due to neo-liberal pressure.
The review found that, when asked if they were completely or partly in favour of "considerate wage bargaining to keep Germany competitive", 79% of west Germans and 83% east Germans said they were. As well, 67% of west Germans and 62% of east Germans supported "major tax reform to strengthen the economy and business".
However, 72% of west Germans and 88% of east Germans also supported the "introduction of basic social safeguards for all"; 70% and 83% respectively supported the "creation of a non-profit sector in the economy"; and 60% and 83% supported a "reduction of working hours to create more jobs".
The review also found that 84% of west Germans and 91% of east Germans supported the "introduction of referenda on major issues"; 70% and 76% supported the "strengthening of local self-government"; and 87% and 93% supported "real equality of men and women in all spheres".
It is clear that, in general, the differences between east and west Germans' opinions are significant.
There is an exception. The review found that only 57% of west Germans and 56% of east Germans supported "equal rights for Germans and foreigners living in Germany".
However, when asked about the slogan "German jobs for Germans", which is raised by the far-right, xenophobic Republikaner, National Democratic Party and Deutsche Volksunion (German People's Union), 42% of east Germans rated it "very good" and "good". In the west, only 18.3% said it was positive.
This problem in the east was clear in the recent state election in Saxony-Anhalt, where almost 13% of the votes were cast for the Deutsche Volksunion.
A menacingly strong far-right, racist and authoritarian orientation has formed in east Germany, which reaches deeply into the voter potential of all parties.
Prior to those elections, Saxony-Anhalt had a minority government formed by the SPD and Green alliance, which was tolerated by the PDS. In the elections, the SPD remained the strongest party but the Green alliance did not get voted into the Landtag. The PDS maintained its share of roughly 20% of the vote.