As the European Union confronts one of the deepest crises of its history, the frustration of a number of member states at the apparent hegemony of the “Franco-German couple" has become vocal and public. With elections approaching in 2012 in France and 2013 in Germany, it is worth considering what a transfer of power from the current governing parties to the major opposition parties, the Parti Socialiste (PS) and the Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands (SPD), might harbor for the future of the European integration project. In this presentation, I examine how these parties handled past crises, both when in government and in opposition. I explore policy continuities and evolution over time through an examination of these parties’ roles in the Empty Chair Crisis, President Mitterand’s program for socialist transformation, German reunification, the proposal for a European constitution, and the current financial and debt crisis.