Schwarz-gelbe Reformen im Bund

What factors can lead to political parties implementing reforms that conflict with their (supposed) identity in a policy area? And how, for that matter, can a party identity develop at all in a policy area? This study investigates these questions using the example of the years of ‘black and yellow’ government, a coalition between the CSU/CDU and FDP, in Germany from 2009 to 2013. With the reorganisation of the pharmaceutical market for statutory health insurance, Germany’s withdrawal from peaceful use of nuclear energy and the suspension of compulsory military service, the Union and the FDP implemented reforms that had not been stipulated in the coalition agreement. These three reforms not only represented a rapid change of policy in the policy areas in question, but also a break with the previous identity of at least one of the coalition partners. This study scrutinises the causes and course of the reforms, the importance of internal and external veto players in this respect, and the role of the ministers in the reform process.