Alliance for Germany
The Alliance for Germany was an electoral alliance in East Germany. It consisted of the Christian [Democratic Union (East Germany)|Christian Democratic Union], Democratic Awakening and German [Social Union (East Germany)|German Social Union]. The German Forum Party was invited to join, but it declined.
The Alliance was formed to contest the 1990 [East German general election], the first and only free election in the country's history. It ran on a platform of expediting German reunification and won a plurality of the seats in the Volkskammer. It led a coalition government that lasted until reunification, with Lothar de Maizière of the CDU serving as minister-president of East Germany.
History
The Alliance for Germany announced its creation in a joint press statement by the Christian Democratic Union, Democratic Awakening, and German Social Union on 5 February 1990. The German Forum Party declined an invitation to join. The Alliance stated on 6 March that, if elected in the general election on 18 March, the primary goal of its government would be to expedite German reunification.The Alliance won a plurality of the votes cast in the election, and consequently a plurality of the seats in the Volkskammer. The result was a surprise to many observers, who predicted the Social [Democratic Party in the GDR|Social Democratic Party] to win a majority of votes and seats. The Alliance formed a coalition government with the SPD and Liberal Democratic Party, which lasted until reunification. Several Alliance and SPD leaders in the government were disgraced when their involvement in the Stasi became public; this included Lothar de Maizière of the CDU, who served as minister-president of East Germany.