THE BERLIN LAND ELECTION OF 22ND OCTOBER, 1995 - EVERYTHING AS IT WAS, YET MANY THINGS DIFFERENT

The continuity in the distribution of power by the revival of the Gran d Coalition after the 1995 election should not conceal the fact that t he Berlin party system has changed. The established parties were weake ned, especially the SPD wich had to take one of the severest defeats o f ist history, and the FDP wich was electorally marginalized. The Gree ns and the PDS, however, could strengthen theire influence and therefo r limit the room for manoeuvre of the government. The detailed analysi s of the election shows two things: On the one hand, the Berlin electi on results are not suitable for constructing an all-German trend, beca use the SPD defeat and the PDS victory are to a large extent based on Berlin-specific factors. On the other hand, the ''legends'' about the spectacular voctory of the PDS, its development to a catch-all Party a nd its ability to mobilize protest voters are empirically unfounded.