ABSTRACT
Political finance in West Germany is characterized by certain structures that contribute to a growing alienation between its citizens and the political elite: etatization, capitalization, and commercialization. A comparison of the laws regulating political finance in 1967, 1984, and 1988, indicates the influence of public money in West Germany. In 1967, the Federal Constitutional Court decided that campaign costs for parties receiving 5 percent of the votes in the preceding election should be reimbursed at 2.50 DM per voter. Legislators granted special privileges to big donors in both the 1984 and 1988 laws by expanding tax deductions for private donations to political parties, and by reducing the degree of disclosure required for private contributions. To test the professionalizaton of campaigning in Germany, campaign expenditures must be analyzed. A pattern is easy to discern in the United States where campaign expenditures are not secret, but in Germany there is not comparable detail.
