Children of the bourgeoisie, unite! German politics.(Green Party and Liberals vie with each other)

Economist (US), The, June, 2004

Could the Greens become the kingmakers of Germany?

SOME things rarely change, notably German politics. Before every European election, pundits lament that the campaign is about domestic politics and that Germans are losing interest in Europe. But in this weekend's elections, two other political classics are more interesting. One is whether the Free Democrats (FDP) will stop their decline, and clear the 5% hurdle a party needs to win any seats. The other is whether, for the first time, there might be a coalition of Christian Democrats (CDU) and Greens in one of Germany's states. For the CDU is expected to lose its absolute majority in the state election in Thuringia.

The two questions are really one: who in future will tip the scales in Germany's...