The abandonment of the political aim of full employment

During the 1960s and the early 1970s there was a consensus among the major German parties that it is a central political task to preserve full employment. The governments of the time were willing to spend a lot of money to achieve this aim and to accept a higher level of inflation. However, because of the persistently high unemployment rates since the middle of the 1970s doubts began to arise as to whether it is possible to restore full employment by political means. Furthermore, this political aim itself is today not of the same importance as it was thirty years ago. This article presents the results of a content analysis of political speeches from 1973 to 1999. It is shown that the term "full employment" has vanished from the speeches of the members of the Government. At the same time the aims of a consolidated budget and, for the former conservative-liberal government, of stable prices have priority over full employment.