Pandemic Politics in the Federal Republic

Abstract

Abstract This article assesses the distinctiveness of the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on German party politics. To do so, it compares and contrasts the politics of the pandemic with those of four other historic crises—the catastrophic flooding of August 2002; the 2008–2009 global financial crisis; the European Union's sovereign debt crisis; and the refugee influx of 2015–2016. It examines the extent of a “rally-round-the flag” effect; how political parties framed the crisis in terms of solidarity; and the impact of retrospective assessment and voting on crisis management. The article finds that the political consequences of the coronavirus pandemic on the whole resembled past patterns, notwithstanding the unprecedent nature of the 2020–2021 crisis.