ABSTRACT
In Germany, as in other countries, the nature and development of the electoral system has been intertwined with that of the party system. The verdict on the German federal system, with its implications for the political system, is now overwhelmingly a positive one, despite recent concerns that there is perhaps a danger of transferring too many powers to the federation. The right-of-centre Christian Democratic Union (CDU) was quick to establish itself in the new postwar party system. Both the CDU and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), were eager to represent basic Christian values, as a strong counter reaction to what had happened during the political system dominated by Hitler and National Socialism. During the 1950s the Social Democratic Party found it very difficult to compete with its main political rivals, the CDU/CSU, who were presiding over a period of unprecedented economic growth in the newly established state of West Germany.
