In which country do we want to live?
Milieu-specific expectations, readiness and inertia with regard to the socio-ecological transformation
Germany is facing major challenges. What is new here is not the expected disruptions themselves, but the increase in the pressure to act to address them both immediately and with foresight. With the proclamation of the socio-ecological transformation, among other things, in the political programme of the traffic light coalition of SPD, Greens and FDP that has been in power since December 2021, the pressure for change is moving closer to other groups of actors, especially the population. But what are people's attitudes to the upcoming changes, which partly call into question previous indicators of performance and prosperity? What readiness and reservations do they bring with them and contribute?
The question therefore arises as to which population groups the newly elected government knows to be behind it, who thus supports the plans of the traffic light coalition in principle and is open to corresponding changes, who can be reached beyond that or is automatically taken along, and who will be difficult to convince.
The article provides a milieu-specific analysis of the current situation, which can be used to formulate an initial assessment of whether and how the planned transformation can succeed on the basis of this constellation. In this way, starting points can be identified as to how the necessary changes must be designed in order to adequately address and meet the concrete needs and future longings of the population, legitimate demands, but also latent fears and provocative accusations.
This chapter is part of the anthology "Mehr Fortschritt wagen? Parteien, Personen, Milieus und Modernisierung: Regieren in Zeiten der Ampelkoalition", edited by Knut Bergmann (Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft).
About the anthology: The ambitions of the federal government under Chancellor Olaf Scholz seem clearly outlined: Fundamentally modernise Germany! But the support of the pandemic-weary population is not guaranteed for the traffic light coalition. Based on the coalition agreement, the contributors outline perspectives for our society and economy as well as our political system. They analyse prevailing milieus and lifestyles, describe political areas of conflict and economic challenges, using data that has in part been collected exclusively. With expertise in the fields of politics, social science and economics, they provide a multi-faceted picture of the Federal Republic at the beginning of a far-reaching transformation.
The idea for the anthology arose from an interdisciplinary cooperation event between Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft, NRW School of Governance and SINUS-Institut.
* Free Open Access publication by Transcript Verlag