Steffen Mau on the German Elections

Democracy in Question?

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GLOSSARY

Traffic light coalition (p. 2 in the transcript, 08:14)

In German politics, a "traffic light coalition" (Ampelkoalition) refers to a governing alliance comprising the Social Democratic Party (SPD), the Free Democratic Party (FDP), and Alliance 90/The Greens. The term derives from the parties' traditional colors—red for the SPD, yellow for the FDP, and green for The Greens—which correspond to the sequence of a traffic light. This coalition model was implemented at the federal level following the 2021 German parliamentary elections. The SPD, Greens, and FDP agreed on a coalition contract titled "Daring to make more progress—an alliance for freedom, justice, and sustainability," leading to the formation of the government under Chancellor Olaf Scholz. However, in November 2024, the coalition faced significant challenges. Disagreements over budget policies culminated in Chancellor Scholz dismissing Finance Minister Christian Lindner of the FDP. This decision led to the resignation of all FDP ministers, effectively collapsing the coalition and leaving an SPD-Greens minority government. The "traffic light coalition" concept has also been applied in other political contexts, such as in Austria, to describe similar alliances. source 1 source 2