Editing Politics of Germany (section)

==Coalitions==
[[File:German state government compositions.svg|thumb|Composition of German states' governing coalitions as of 2024]]

While East-Germany was under a single-party system, there was only a brief period when the SPD governed West-Germany alone on a federal level as a minority party following the dissolution of its coalition with the FDP in 1982.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,925737,00.html|title=West Germany: Collapse of a Coalition|last=Hoyle|first=Russ|publisher=TIME|date=27 September 1982|accessdate=2024-10-08}}</ref> Otherwise, all governments in West- and post-reunification Germany have been coalitions between two or more parties. In German political tradition, these usually receive a name often based on the parties' colors:

*[[Grand coalition (Germany)|Grand coalition]] (describing a governing coalition of the parties Christian Democratic Union (CDU) along with its sister party the Christian Social Union of Bavaria (CSU) and the Social Democratic Party (SPD)) 
*[[Traffic light coalition]] (coalition government of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), the Free Democratic Party (FDP) and Alliance 90/The Greens)
*[[Jamaica coalition (politics)|Jamaica coalition]] (describing a governing coalition among the parties of the Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU), Free Democratic Party (FDP), and the Green Party)
*[[Black-red-green coalition]] (a governing coalition among the parties of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the Green Party)
*[[Red–red–green coalition]] (a coalition between the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), The Left, and Alliance 90/The Greens) 
*[[Red–red coalition]] (a governing coalition among the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and The Left party or its predecessor, the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS))

Due to the [[cordon sanitaire (politics)|cordon sanitaire]] (usually called {{Lang|de|Brandmauer}}, firewall, in Germany) all other parties have established against the AfD, hypothetical coalitions involving the AfD are rarely discussed. A coalition of CDU/CSU, AfD and FDP would have had a majority in the [[20th Bundestag]] elected in 2021, but was not seriously discussed publicly by either media or politicians. Such a coalition does not have a common nickname, but the term "Bahamas coalition", in reference to the colors of the [[flag of the Bahamas]] (including the AfD's light blue), was coined in 2013.<ref>{{Cite news|url = https://www.welt.de/politik/bundestagswahl/article119822946/Das-Gespenst-einer-Bahamas-Koalition-geht-um.html|title = Bundestagswahl: Das Gespenst einer Bahamas-Koalition geht um|newspaper = Die Welt|date = 8 September 2013|access-date = 8 December 2021|archive-date = 8 December 2021|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211208201602/https://www.welt.de/politik/bundestagswahl/article119822946/Das-Gespenst-einer-Bahamas-Koalition-geht-um.html|url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.welt.de/politik/wahl/bundestagswahl/article119926791/Opposition-wittert-Buendnis-zwischen-Union-und-AfD.html|title="Bahamas-Koalition": Opposition wittert Bündnis zwischen Union und AfD|newspaper=Die Welt|date=11 September 2013|access-date=8 December 2021|archive-date=8 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211208201600/https://www.welt.de/politik/wahl/bundestagswahl/article119926791/Opposition-wittert-Buendnis-zwischen-Union-und-AfD.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Other coalitions involving the AfD are considered even more unlikely due to lack of parliamentary majority, ideological differences and the cordon sanitaire.{{Citation needed|date=December 2021}}