Electoral alliance
In Germany, the union of several parties or groups of voters in elections is called an election alliance or election platform . Most of these come from the same political camp , but at least they have a common electoral goal that makes the other content-related differences take a back seat. The basis of this cooperation is usually also referred to as an election platform .
In Switzerland the amalgamation of several parties or groups of voters is referred to only as an electoral alliance. In Switzerland, on the other hand, an election platform is the political program published by the parties before the elections for the next legislative period .
Electoral alliances are often founded by opposition parties that see no real chance of individually bringing about a change of government. With the merger, the common energies are to be bundled and a competitive situation between the allies, which would result in a fragmentation of the will of the voters, is to be avoided.
Historical examples of electoral alliances are Allianz für Deutschland , L'Ulivo , DOS - Reform Serbia , DEMOS or Fatherland - All Russia .
Electoral alliances in Germany (federal level)
In Germany there has been traditional close cooperation between the Bavarian CSU and the CDU , which is active in all other federal states, in all federal elections so far ; in the Bundestag both parties form a common parliamentary group . Before the Bundestag elections in 2005 , the PDS , which until then had only been successful in the new federal states , and which has not had a parliamentary group since 2002, and the newly formed party Electoral Work and Social Justice (WASG) formed an alliance to move into the Bundestag together and become an all of Germany to build a competitive party to the left of the SPD . Since the federal election law does not allow lists of different parties, the PDS (renamed "Die Linkspartei.PDS") nominated WASG members for this electoral alliance on so-called open lists . The members elected from this list formed a common group called "Die Linke" .