Cartel parties
In the history of the German Empire, the term cartel parties denotes a conservative-national-liberal electoral alliance between 1887 and 1890.
Composition and beginnings
To support the Reich Chancellor Otto von Bismarck , an alliance of the German Conservative Party , the Free Conservative Party and the National Liberal Party was formed before the Reichstag election of 1887 . This envisaged joint candidates in the constituencies as well as agreements in case of any runoff elections.
The right-wing parties also benefited in the Reichstag elections of 1887 from fear of war against France. Above all, the National Liberals were able to gain strong votes and won 48 seats at the expense of the left-wing liberals and social democrats .
The victory of the cartel gave Bismarck another parliamentary majority. But he was now significantly more dependent on this alliance, and the political fate of the Chancellor was closely linked to the success of the coalition. At first the alliance was quite successful. So in 1887 the enforcement of the managed Septennat . A year later, a change in the Landwehr Act brought another strengthening of the army. The East Elbe landowners as the basis of the conservatives were accommodated by the coalition with agriculturally friendly laws on sugar and liquor tax. In addition, the cartel agreed to extend the legislative period from three to five years and to extend the Socialist Law .
Downfall of the coalition
However, the similarities were already largely exhausted. Conflicts arose, for example, with the so-called second “peace law”, which was supposed to settle the Kulturkampf . This bill failed due to objection from the National Liberals. The attempt to raise the grain tariffs again as part of the protective tariff policy also met with resistance from the liberals. Only with the consent of the center did this submission come through.
The opposing forces intensified in the various cartel parties. In the German Conservative Party, the ultra-right wing dreamed of a conservative people's party and an anti-capitalist, anti-Semitic, anti-liberal and Christian social reform course. In terms of content, this suggested an alliance with the center. In the national liberal camp, doubts about the course of repression against social democracy and about colonial policy increased . The party also stuck to its criticism of social policy . Only with the help of the center was the old age pension and disability insurance law passed in 1889.
The coalition broke up at the beginning of Wilhelm II's reign over the question of the socialist laws. While the new emperor under the catchphrase of the " new course " and public opinion saw the policy of repression as a failure, Bismarck and the conservatives like Wilhelm von Kardorff stuck to it. The main parties of the cartel suffered massive losses in the Reichstag elections of 1890 in favor of the center, the left-wing liberals and the social democrats.
As a result of this defeat, Bismarck fell behind in the escalating power struggle with Wilhelm II without notable political supporters, the result was his dismissal in March 1890.
supporting documents
- ↑ cf. the decision printed in detail in: Gerhard A. Ritter (Ed.): Historisches Lesebuch 2: 1871-1914 . Frankfurt, 1967. pp. 249f.
literature
- Hans-Peter Ullmann: The German Empire. 1871-1918 . Darmstadt, pp. 90-93