Germany's landmark 1998 election saw for the first time in the Republic's fifty-year historyan incumbent Chancellor and his entire government replaced. In this collection fourteen distinguished scholars, from both sides of the Atlantic, have come together to give the first detailed scholarly account of this historic event. From a variety of perspectives the essays, based on in-depth interviews, explore the election candidates, parties, and issues, and places them within the context of the Federal Republic's history, the end of the Bonn Republic and the beginning of the Berlin Republic. Special chapters focus on the growing importance of women inelectoral politics, voting behavior and the influence of the media, and the significance of the election for the European Union.

Based on in-depth interviews with political leaders and extensive field research this book is ideally suited for specialists in German and European politics and the interested reader who wants far more depth of coverage than the main stream media can provide.