Trading Courts for Foreign Policy

After a failed confirmation of SPD‑nominated constitutional court judges, the Social Democrats allegedly extracted a foreign‑policy concession: a partial embargo on Israel. This cross‑domain bargaining shows how judicial appointments can be leveraged to shift unrelated national positions. Coalition discipline becomes a currency that moves policy across silos. — It highlights how fragmented coalition systems can produce unpredictable policy U‑turns when elites trade across institutions to maintain government.