A decade of Christian Democratic decline: the dilemmas of the CDU, ÖVP and CDA in the 1990s

This article explores Christian Democratic electoral decline in the 1990s through an examination of the key problems faced by the CDU, the ÖVP and the CDA. Although the problems of Christian Democracy in this period are identified as arising from exogenous changes, the article goes beyond a mechanistic approach by also scrutinizing the response of the various parties. It is argued that the contraction of core support bases, intensified party competition and the rise of problematic issues created a series of dilemmas for the parties but also that the unconvincing reaction of the parties contributed to their electoral predicament.