Germany and Canada: A Sharp Contrast in Political Culture

In September, Canada had a snap election. With the support of about 32.6% of Canadian voters, Trudeau’s Liberals secured 160 seats — just ten short of a majority. We have another Liberal minority government.

Across the ocean, Germany also just had an election. The contrast to Canada’s election couldn’t be more stark. It wasn’t just in the numbers – it was in the politics.

The difference pro-rep makes

Germany has elections every four years. With proportional representation, they always result in a coalition government. Parties always govern together.

An early election is possible in Germany, but it has only happened once since 1990. When parties know none of them can grab all the power, the incentive to call an early election evaporates. Meaningful cooperation becomes the best path forward. That’s what voters expect.

In Canada, with first-past-the-post, those incentives are turned on their head. Since 1990, we’ve had five early elections. It’s the system. We alternate between false majority governments – where one party gets all the power with about 39% of the vote – and minority governments.

Our minority governments tend to last only about two years. This is because our biggest parties look at minorities as an inconvenient (and unpleasant) accident – a detour on the road to having complete control of Parliament. As soon as one party is up a few points in the polls, someone will trigger an early election (and all parties will blame each other for it).

How did the elections turn out differently?

In Canada, 62.25% of eligible voters showed up. In Germany, 76%.

In Canada, this election was characterized by the usual divisive fearmongering. An exit poll conducted immediately after the election showed a whopping 49% of voters were voting to stop a party they dislike, rather than to elect a party they support. In Germany, voters could vote for the parties and candidates they believed in, knowing their vote would contribute to a proportional result.

In Canada, only 48% of voters made any difference. Most voters elected no-one – and new data from the Angus Reid Institute found that three in five Canadians would have been more satisfied with the election results under a proportional system. In Germany, 91.4% of votes went towards electing an MP – and helped determine the makeup of Parliament.

Despite all this, by far the biggest contrast is in what happened AFTER the election.

Co-operation vs total power

The differences between first-past-the-post and pro-rep were laid bare in the responses of the leaders and their teams.

In Canada, Gerald Butts (former Principal Secretary to Justin Trudeau) took to Twitter, bragging about how the “geniuses” at the data company hired by the Liberals had excelled at micro-targeting a handful of voters in swing ridings. Their measure of success? Delivering the Liberal Party the most seats with the fewest votes – a 50-seat bonus over their popular vote. The Liberals were a mere 16,870 votes short – in 11 swing ridings – of achieving 100% of the power. Butts declared himself “awestruck.”

How did Justin Trudeau react to the results on election night? By telling Canadians that they had (again) given his team a “clear mandate.”

In Germany, the contrast in the message from the party leader most likely to be the next Chancellor couldn’t be more stark. Olaf Scholz of the (centre-left) Social Democratic Party (SPD) described the meaning of the election results like this: “With their votes, they have made three parties stronger: the Social Democratic Party, the Greens, and the Free Democratic Party. This is a message to these three to get the job done and move to form a government together.”

Reflecting on his former coalition partner (the party he just defeated): “Ms. Merkel has a successful government record, and even as a Social Democrat, it is not difficult for me to acknowledge that. We were, after all, part of the coalition in three of the four Merkel governments and pushed through many things that were important to us.”

“If you want to form a government together, you have to have trust, because later we will have to solve many tasks that were not foreseeable at the time of the coalition negotiations.”

—Olaf Sholz, SPD, probable next chancellor

Reflecting on his future hopes for the “big tent” parties, he goes go on to say: “Of course I would also like to see a conservative big tent party that has its own answers to the questions of the 21st century. That would be worth every effort.”

Can you hear the contrast between their political culture and ours as Scholz reflects on his former coalition partner, potential coalition partners, and his hopes for the kind of political diversity that is good for Germany? It’s not all about him. It’s not all about victory for his party.

Try to imagine Justin Trudeau saying any of these things right after the election.

Right now in Germany, three parties are negotiating the “traffic light” coalition. (Red = Social Democratic Party, Yellow = Free Democratic Party, and the Greens). Immediately after the election, the parties jumped into negotiations. First the two smaller parties, the Free Democratic Party and the Greens – who have substantial policy differences – met alone. The result? FDP leader, Christian Lindner, posted: “In the search for a new government, we are seeking out common ground and bridges over our divisions. And we are even finding some of those things. Exciting times.” Then the three parties began negotiating together.

Scholz reflected on the ingredients for successful collaborative government: “If you want to form a government together, you have to have trust, because later we will have to solve many tasks that were not foreseeable at the time of the coalition negotiations.” He added, “One lesson from real life is that genuine affection is the result of serious engagement.”

How are the negotiations going? According to Svenja Schulze, member of the SDP leadership committee and current Environment Minister: “It’s a very trusting, very serious atmosphere, and we are talking very intensively about policies … you can sense this unity.”

Try to imagine this in Canada: Three parties, immediately after an election, sitting face to face in earnest, talking “intensively about policy.” Seeking to find common ground. To build “trust” and “unity.” If it’s hard to imagine, it’s because first-past-the-post makes it all but impossible, even with a minority government.

In Canada, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh was soon publicly threatening to withhold NDP votes on legislation, saying Trudeau didn’t seem the least bit interested in having a conversation.

Conservative leader Erin O’Toole publicly assured voters that his party was ready for another election in 18 months.

Yes, Canada, we have a minority government. No, we do not have proportional representation. Not by a long shot.