Election campaigns are more than just the prelude to the election outcome: they are scenes of a democratic culture. Citizens and politicians come particularly close here and express their ideas about democracy and the responsibilities of politics very directly. Thomas Mergel, in his cultural historical study, shows what expectations regarding politics are negotiated between voters and candidates - through images, discourses, and symbolic forms of action and communication. He critically examines the widespread thesis of the Americanization of European election campaigns. Although German candidates certainly looked abroad - especially to the USA - they still pursued their own distinct paths: In reaction to the era of National Socialism, voters in the old Federal Republic of Germany primarily expected objectivity and fairness, and were skeptical of seductive images and promises.