ABSTRACT
The interface of parties, opposition and society has changed considerably from those days, when government began to be based on an elected parliament to parliamentary democracy of the eighties in the Federal Republic. In Imperial Germany, parliament was elected by all male adults and seemed to be the closest approximation to a voice of society. One of the major challenges for post-war Germany was to develop a new interface between parties, opposition and society which would not be trapped by the pitfalls of Weimar and which would free the path towards responsible party government. When the Allies and their military governments in Germany considered reeducating the country towards political democracy, they found the population not altogether ready to move in this direction. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
