The idea of a prospective Neutral Germany has been discussed on this site quite a bit over the years, primarily what if the Molotov note in 1947 or the Stalin note in 1952 had been accepted by the west - regarding whether these proposals for a unified Germany were sincere or not is a matter of debate in itself. Otherwise had Beria or Malenkov emerged as Soviet leader post 1953, as both were in favour of proposals for a unified, neutral Germany. A Unified, Neutral Germany would have profound effects on the Cold War, and US-Soviet relations postwar.
What hasn't been discussed as much is the impact of a non-divided Germany on Germany itself, particularly in the political sphere. One of the reasons the CDU achieved such political dominance post 1949 was that many of the strongest areas of pre-1933 SPD support were now under Soviet occupation, and had Germany remained unified and democratic the SPD would surely have emerged as the largest political party in the inaugural post war elections.
The SPD in the eastern bloc succumbed so soviet pressure in 1946 and merged with the KPD to create the Socialist Unity Party, which was in effect the KPD under a different name, so lets assume a POD earlier than this.
Assuming an accomodation is made almost identical to that of Austria in 1955, where Germany becomes a liberal democracy outside NATO membership. What would the domestic politics of a unified Germany be like in the 1950s-1990s? Would the SPD, like the scandanavian social democratic parties, remain the largest and dominant party?
What hasn't been discussed as much is the impact of a non-divided Germany on Germany itself, particularly in the political sphere. One of the reasons the CDU achieved such political dominance post 1949 was that many of the strongest areas of pre-1933 SPD support were now under Soviet occupation, and had Germany remained unified and democratic the SPD would surely have emerged as the largest political party in the inaugural post war elections.
The SPD in the eastern bloc succumbed so soviet pressure in 1946 and merged with the KPD to create the Socialist Unity Party, which was in effect the KPD under a different name, so lets assume a POD earlier than this.
Assuming an accomodation is made almost identical to that of Austria in 1955, where Germany becomes a liberal democracy outside NATO membership. What would the domestic politics of a unified Germany be like in the 1950s-1990s? Would the SPD, like the scandanavian social democratic parties, remain the largest and dominant party?