Campaign Posters for Alliance 90/The Greens and the PDS (August 10, 1998)

In the new federal states in the East, the PDS tried to cast off the stigma of being the successor party to the Socialist Unity Party [Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands or SED], and it sought to establish itself as a legitimate democratic alternative on the left side of the political spectrum. For this reason, it was even willing to continue tolerating the SPD-led government in Saxony-Anhalt. Alliance 90/The Greens made a strong start in the election campaign, but their dogmatic election platform, which included plans to raise gasoline prices to 5 Deutschmarks a liter (“eco-tax”) and to impose a speed limit of 100 kilometers per hour on the Autobahn, turned many voters off. They responded with a revised platform that no longer mentioned the unpopular proposed measures. Additionally, in the critical phase of the election, Alliance 90/The Greens focused on the popularity of Joschka Fischer, the best-known Green politician (shown on bottom poster). The poster reads: “New Majorities. Only with us!” The top poster, an advertisement for the PDS, reads: “It’s our country, too. More to the left, more about women.” Photo: Engelbert Reineke.

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