Popular parties in the East: the story of alienation?

In the eastern German states of Saxony-Anhalt, Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, and Berlin, new state parliaments will soon be elected, with both the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Social Democratic Party (SPD) facing difficult electoral battles. A documentary titled Volksparteien im Osten: Die Geschichte einer Entfremdung? explores why these traditional mainstream parties have fallen into crisis in eastern Germany. According to the documentary, the combined support for CDU and SPD in eastern Germany has dropped dramatically, from 70 percent in the 1994 federal election to just over 30 percent in the 2025 vote. This decline is more pronounced than in western Germany, where both parties have also lost ground, but not to the same extent. The documentary’s author, Jan N. Lorenzen, who previously won the Hanns-Joachim-Friedrichs Prize for his work Wir waren in der AfD, sought to shift the focus from why the Alternative for Germany (AfD) continues to gain votes to why CDU and SPD have lost so much support. He and co-author Ann-Marie Amthor interviewed several former politicians from both parties who were influential in the early post-reunification years. Among them was Stephan Hilsberg, a founding member of the East German Social Democrats and a Bundestag member until 2009. Also featured was Arnold Vaatz, a former Environment Minister in Saxony and long-time CDU Bundestag member, who described himself in the film as a “critical shareholder” within his party, still a member but maintaining distance. The documentary argues that the loss of trust in democracy and its leading parties began in the very early days after reunification. It revisits key moments of disappointment, such as the failed hunger strike by miners in Bischoffrode in 1993 against the closure of a mine. The protest became a powerful symbol of resistance against industrial decline in the east. Another example cited is the 1990 public referendums in border regions of Saxony, Thuringia, and Brandenburg regarding future regional affiliations, whose results were largely ignored. Many eastern Germans felt their voices were not heard in shaping the new democratic order. A recurring theme in the documentary is the lack of representation of eastern Germans within the leadership of CDU and SPD. Regine Hildebrandt, known as the “Mother Courage of the East,” once humorously yet frustratedly asked western members of her SPD at a party conference in 1993: “My question to the westerners is: Do you want the easterners?” Similarly, Wolfgang Thierse, later president of the Bundestag, noted in 1995: “I say this without complaining: We easterners are only twenty percent of the population.” Jana Hensel, a writer raised in Leipzig, points out in the documentary that CDU and SPD have been shaped by western German influences, which contributed to a sense of alienation among eastern voters. She suggests this was one of the main reasons for the disconnect between the parties and the people they represent. The film highlights a feeling of powerlessness among many eastern Germans, particularly during the initial years following unification. The Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS), which emerged from the old East German ruling party, benefited from this gap in representation. It successfully positioned itself as a party of concern for those affected by the upheaval of the Wende period. Today, the documentary notes, the AfD appears poised to take over that role as the new dominant force in eastern Germany. Lorenzen identifies another factor contributing to the erosion of trust, what he describes as a “refusal to engage in dialogue” on issues that have driven many eastern Germans onto the streets. These include economic inequality, perceived cultural neglect, and a sense of being overlooked in national politics. The documentary concludes by suggesting that the current crisis of CDU and SPD in the east is the endpoint of a long process of estrangement, rooted in historical grievances and ongoing political disconnection.