With the end of the old certainties and classic political marriages, three-party coalitions are coming into vogue in politics – now also in the federal government. Psychologists know the pitfalls of such constellations.
Triangle relationships – also known as “Ménage-à-trois” in the middle class – are known from French films such as the 60-year-old, deadly Nouvelle Vague classic “Jules and Jim”. So now Germany is facing the first three-party coalition in the federal government. Psychologists see a dynamic of their own here – and advise the new federal government to have clear rules.
“Even people who are obviously very different at first can definitely experience in a relationship: Okay, I can rely on this other person,” says the Hamburg couple therapist Eric Hegmann. Psychologists like him like to point out that what is special about threesomes is that one person tends to feel left out because two of the three understand each other better.
“Trust is a very important factor”
There are often two constellations (dyads) within three constellations (triads). This could offend the third party, because a temporary feeling of being alone can be coped with.
The phenomenon seems to have occurred four years ago during the negotiations of a so-called Jamaica alliance, which the FDP left out of frustration at the black-and-green talks: “It is better not to govern than to govern wrongly,” said FDP -Chef Christian Lindner memorable back then.
Couples therapist Hegmann emphasizes: “Trust is a very important factor for every relationship. To what extent the partners manage to ignore previous injuries, there is a key to this, which is called 5: 1 – and that means a negative experience is needed five positive experiences to make up for this negative experience. ” So you really have to make an effort in a partnership if you’ve argued a lot beforehand.
Partners need to feel equal
In the case of tripartite alliances, the therapist draws a comparison with private triangular relationships and relationships with even more participants, even if politics is of course not about love affairs. Polyamorous relationships, i.e. partnerships with more than one person, are a minority phenomenon. “It takes a lot of transparency, a lot of openness and also a lot of truth.” But there are examples that this can work well.
But that is much more demanding than a two-person relationship. “In a three-way relationship, the partners actually have to feel equal in order for it to work. It has to be a relationship on an equal footing – and that is often difficult to establish. One of the three is often the one who gathers the other around, so to speak.”
The partners would have to take countermeasures – “so that there are not always two-party alliances against a third party”. That is a challenge – especially for the negotiations at the beginning. The therapist advises: “There must always be the opportunity to renegotiate. You can never know in advance what will come of what you have negotiated – and you must be able to say: Okay, that didn’t work as well as we did have thought. We have to renegotiate. “
People have less confidence in three-party coalitions
The negotiation expert Matthias Schranner from Zurich, who is also a speaker at the University of St. Gallen, believes that coalitions are similar to marriages. What is important is a “climate with which you can make a difference”. His outside view of German politics makes him less skeptical about the FDP and the Greens and their differences, which are always emphasized in Germany: “The people at the negotiating table, Christian Lindner and Annalena Baerbock, are a generation, and I think so, that connects. “
Much has been sworn these days – after 16 years with Chancellor Angela Merkel and no party more than 30 percent – that there are no more popular parties, as in other countries such as the Netherlands. Two-party coalitions as they were long common in the old Federal Republic – social-liberal, black-yellow, red-green – have become rarer. Half of the federal states already have three-party coalitions in all possible constellations.
Nevertheless: Overall, tripartite alliances fulfilled the population with less trust than doubles, explains one of the most famous German pollsters, Renate Köcher from the Allensbach Institute, immediately after the election. Surveys have shown that almost two thirds of voters are convinced that such a coalition “would rather have problems working together efficiently”. Quiver continues: “The citizens mourn the two-party coalitions a little because they are initially convinced that the tensions are the least there.”
But if there should be the first three-party coalition in the federal government and possibly a so-called traffic light made up of the SPD, FDP and the Greens in the government, that’s basically not entirely new. Strictly speaking, the coalitions of the Union and Social Democrats under Merkel already consisted of three parties: CDU, SPD – and CSU.
David William is a talented author who has made a name for himself in the world of writing. He is a professional author who writes on a wide range of topics, from general interest to opinion news. David is currently working as a writer at 24 hours worlds where he brings his unique perspective and in-depth research to his articles, making them both informative and engaging.
