How to build a modern party: Helmut Kohl's leadership and the transformation of the CDU

This article analyses the manner in which Helmut Kohl modernised a traditional party of Honoratioren in the Rheinland‐Palatinate. Four main transformations accomplished this: the renewal of party elite, the construction of a strong party apparatus with a high number of members, the renewal of the party programme, and the strategic alliance with the FDP. These transformations, carried out by Kohl at the Land level in the mid‐1960s, were applied at the federal level after 1973 when he was elected CDU president. They have been constants in his leadership ever since. A close look at Kohl's career in Mainz sheds light not only on his past but also on his present and on his future.     

Why Germany Wanted EMU: The Role of Helmut Kohl's Belief System and the Fall of the Berlin Wall

In light of the current Euro-crisis and seemingly erratic German response to it, the question of why Germany wanted EMU has gained new relevance. While EMU entailed economic and political benefits for Germany, this article indicates that taking into account the German shared historical consciousness, and the combined effect of Chancellor Kohl's beliefs and 1989 Eastern European revolution provides a more adequate answer to this question. More specifically, such an explanation provides an answer to remaining questions concerning the timing of the German acquiescence, and the ambiguous and inconsistent behaviour of the Kohl government on the road to Maastricht.