A warning and sign of change” “

The regional elections in Hesse and Lower Saxony on 2 February marked the collapse of the German Social-Democratic party, currently in power, in coalition with the Greens: the party took less than 10% of the vote in Hesse and less than 15% in Lower Saxony. The success of the leaders of the CDU (Christian Democrats), Wulff and Koch, overturns the existing balance of power in the regional Parliament, the Bundesrat, in which the party now holds two-thirds of the seats. The implications of the vote are also significant at the federal level, since the German legislative system is founded on a balance between Bundestag (federal parliament) and Bundesrat. A number of scenarios emerge from the outcome of the vote: on the one hand the chance now given to the CDU to exploit its own reinforcement by the exercise of its veto on laws voted by a red-green majority, on the other the risk that this situation may further delay the implementation of the necessary reforms to revive the struggling German economy. We discussed these prospects with Theodor Bolzenius , spokesman of the ZdK (Zentralkomittee der deutschen Katholiken), German Catholic Action. Dr. Bolzenius, in your view what are the reasons for this result? With the proviso that as the ZdK we do not intend to comment on the political result as such, but to observe with extreme attention the motivations behind it, I believe that the policies hitherto pursued in the two federal states, especially in Hesse, formerly governed by the CDU, have been clearly rewarded. In contrast to the recent elections of the Bundestag, the question of a possible German participation in a war on Iraq played no role: this time people voted exclusively according to motivations of an economic and domestic character, as is indeed normal in regional elections. Just for this reason, it was easy for the electors also to give a warning to the federal government by their vote. And the consequences? I predict repercussions on the German political scene. The result does not alter the balance of power in the Bundestag. But the balance between the SPD and the CDU has changed at the level of the regional parliament, and it is as well to remember that approximately 50% of all laws in Germany require approval by the Bundesrat: especially laws in those fields in which we are actively engaged, such as immigration and right to asylum. Ethical questions such as cloning and pre-implant diagnosis (PID) remain the exclusive responsibility of the federal parliament, and no developments are foreseeable in the short-term: undoubtedly however the Christian forces have emerged reinforced. By contrast, in the fields of education and family policy, not only is the approval of the Bundesrat necessary, but responsibilities are largely delegated to the Länder: in these fields, the Christian forces have become considerably stronger as a result of the vote. What are the ZdK’s feelings about the current situation, also in the light of the Doctrinal Note on the participation of Catholics in political life recently published by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith? The situation in Germany must be observed with some apprehension, because, like other European countries, we are confronted by great challenges, especially in the field of economic and social policy. Reforms are urgently necessary in Germany. They need to be implemented with determination; to do so, a clear-cut majority is needed. Let’s hope that the political alignments do not form opposing power blocs that stand in the way of reform: if the CDU now enjoys a large majority at the decentralized level, the majority in the Bundestag, though narrow, is still held by the SPD. The Churches too must signal their personal willingness to change. I’m thinking for example of German Caritas and its corresponding Evangelic organization, Diakonie, which together run the majority of hospitals, and thus represent a strong lobby in the sector. On fundamental ethical questions we need to continue to seek the right allies. The Vatican document you refer to points out that in a pluralist society policy thrives on compromise. At the level of the federal parliament and of the Länder, Christians must therefore be willing to negotiate, though clearly only to a certain point: Christians must continue to express their own positions clearly, especially on such questions as cloning and pre-implant diagnosis (PID), on which a lively debate can be expected.