ABSTRACT
Germany started its own format of television debates in 1969 with roundtable discussions of the party leaders. The direct confrontation just of the chancellor candidates from the two major parties, the Christian Democrats and the Social Democrats, did not materialise out of consideration for the smaller parties that were needed for forming a coalition government. Therefore, the two public television channels organised discussions with four and, later, five party leaders dubbed “the elephants’ circle”. This format existed until the end of the 1980s when the incumbent chancellor, Helmut Kohl, refused to participate in any televised debate. The tradition of holding debates before an election was revived in 2002 but changed to an encounter with just the chancellor candidates of the two big parties and was therefore renamed as a duel. After the most recent parliamentary election in 2017 the duel format has been called into question because the formerly big parties are shrinking and their vote shares are coming closer to those of the smaller parties. The new party landscape with now seven parties being represented in the national parliament provides for new conditions and possibilities for forming a government coalition. Against this background, the duel format does not seem to be justified any longer and might have to be changed back to the old format again.
