Christian Democratic Union (Germany)
| Christian Democratic Union of Germany Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Chairperson | Angela Merkel (Chancellor) |
| Founded | 1945 |
| Headquarters | Klingelhöferstraße 8 10785 Berlin |
| Newspaper | Union |
| Youth wing | Young Union |
| Membership (2012) | 484,397[1] |
| Ideology | Christian democracy,[2] Liberal conservatism,[2] |
| Political position | Centre-right[3] |
| National affiliation | CDU/CSU |
| International affiliation | Centrist Democrat International, International Democrat Union |
| European affiliation | European People's Party |
| European Parliament group | European People's Party |
| Colors | Black (customary) Orange (official) |
| Bundestag |
193 / 620
|
| Regional Parliaments |
562 / 1,875
|
| European Parliament |
34 / 99
|
| Prime ministers of states |
5 / 16
|
| Website | |
| http://www.cdu.de | |
The Christian Democratic Union of Germany (German: Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands, CDU; German pronunciation: [ˈkʁɪstlɪç ˌdemoˈkʁaːtɪʃə uˈni̯oːn ˈdɔʏtʃlants]) is a Christian democratic[4] and liberal-conservative political party in Germany. It is the major catch-all party of the centre-right in German politics.[5][6] Along with its Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union of Bavaria (CSU), the CDU forms the CDU/CSU grouping, also known as the Union, in the Bundestag.
The leader of the party, Angela Merkel, is the current Chancellor of Germany. The CDU is a member of the European People's Party (EPP) and sits in the EPP Group in the European Parliament. Internationally, the CDU is a member of the Centrist Democrat International and the International Democrat Union. The CDU is the second largest political party in Germany.
Party platform
The CDU is Christian-based, applying the principles of Christian democracy and emphasising the "Christian understanding of humans and their responsibility toward God." CDU membership consists however of people adhering to a variety of religions as well as non-religious individuals. The CDU's policies derive from Political Catholicism, Catholic social teaching and political Protestantism, as well as fiscal conservatism and national conservatism. The CDU was the first proponent of the social market economy, although the party has adopted more liberal economics policies since Helmut Kohl's term in office as the Chancellor of Germany (1982–1998). In terms of foreign policy, the CDU commits itself to European integration and a strong relation with the USA. In the European Union, the party opposes the entry of Turkey into the EU, preferring instead a privileged partnership with Turkey. In addition to citing various human rights violations, the CDU also believes that Turkey's unwillingness to recognise Cyprus as an independent, sovereign state contradicts the EU policy that its members must recognise the existence of one another. Domestically, the CDU emphasises curtailing red tape and the preservation of cultural traditions.
Opponents of the CDU are the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), The Left party and Alliance '90/The Greens. The CDU has however governed in two Grand Coalitions with the SPD as well as in various coalitions with the Alliance '90/The Greens. The CDU rejects coalitions with either left- or right-wing extremist parties.
The Free Democratic Party (FDP), a classical liberal party, is the preferred partner of any CDU government since the CDU and FDP have similar attitudes towards fiscal policy. As a conservative party, the CDU supports stronger punishments of crimes and supports involvement on the part of the Bundeswehr in cases of domestic anti-terrorism offensives. In terms of immigrants, the CDU supports initiatives to integrate immigrants through language courses, and aims to further control immigration. Dual citizenship should only be allowed in exceptional cases.
History
Immediately following the collapse of the Nazi dictatorship at the end of World War II, the need for a new political order in Germany was imminent. Simultaneous yet unrelated meetings began occurring throughout Germany, each with the intention of planning a “Christian-democratic party.” The “Christlich-Demokratische Union” was established in Berlin on 26 June 1945, and in Rheinland and Westfalen in September of the same year.
The founding members of the CDU consisted primarily of former members of the Centre Party, German Democratic Party, German National People’s Party, and German People’s Party. Many of these individuals, including CDU-Berlin founder Andreas Hermes and future chancellor of Germany Konrad Adenauer, were imprisoned for the involvement in the German Resistance during the Nazi dictatorship. Though, in the Cold War years after World War II up to the 1960s, the CDU also attracted many conservative, anti-Communist former Nazis and Nazi collaborators into its higher ranks (like Hans Globke and Theodor Oberländer).
One of the lessons learned from the failure of the Weimar Republic was that disunity among the democratic parties ultimately allowed for the rise of the Nazi Party. It was therefore crucial to create a unified party of Christian Democrats – a Christian Democratic ‘’Union’’. The result of these meetings was the establishment of an interconfessional (Catholic and Protestant alike) party influenced heavily by the political tradition of liberal conservatism. The CDU experienced considerable success gaining support from the time of its creation in Berlin on 26 June 1945 until its first convention on 21 October 1950, at which Chancellor Adenauer was named the first Chairman of the party.
In the beginning, it was not clear which party would be favored by the victors of the Second World War, but by the end of the 1940s, the left-wing governments of USA and Britain began to lean toward the CDU and away from the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). The latter was more nationalist and sought German reunification, even at the expense of concessions to Soviet, depicting Adenauer as an instrument of both the Americans and the Vatican. The Western powers appreciated CDU's moderation, its economic flexibility and its value as an oppositional force to the Communists, which appealed to European voters at the time. Also, Adenauer had early received trust from the British.[7]
The party was split over issues as rearmament within the Western alliance and German unification as a neutral state. Adenauer staunchly defended his pro-Western position and outmanoeuvred some of his opponents. He also refused to consider SPD as a party of the coalition until he felt sure that they shared his anti-Communist position. The principled rejection of a reunification that would alienate Germany from the Western alliance made it harder to anchor the party among Protestant voters.[7]
The CDU was the dominant party for the first two decades following the establishment of West Germany in 1949. Konrad Adenauer remained the party’s leader until 1963, at which point former minister of economics Ludwig Erhard replaced him.[8] As the Free Democratic Party (FDP) withdrew from the governing coalition in 1966 due to disagreements over fiscal and economic policy, Erhard was forced to resign. Consequently, a grand coalition with the SPD took over government under CDU Chancellor Kurt Georg Kiesinger.
The SPD quickly gained popularity and succeeded in forming a social-liberal coalition with the FDP following the 1969 federal election, forcing the CDU out of power for the first time in their history. The CDU continued its role as opposition until 1982, when the FDP’s withdrawal from the coalition with the SPD allowed the CDU to regain power. CDU Chairman Helmut Kohl became the new Chancellor of West Germany and his CDU-FDP coalition was confirmed in the 1983 federal election. Public support for the coalition’s work in the process of German reunification was reiterated in the 1990 federal election, in which the CDU-FDP governing coalition experienced a clear victory.
After the collapse of the East German government in 1989, Kohl – supported by the governments of France, the United Kingdom, and the United States – called for German reunification. On 3 October 1990, the German Democratic Republic (GDR) was abolished and its territory re-annexed by West Germany. The East German CDU merged with its West German counterpart, and elections were held for the reunified country. Although Kohl was re-elected, the party began losing much of its popularity because of an economic recession in the former GDR and increased taxes in the west. The CDU was, however, able to win the 1994 federal election by a narrow margin due to an economic recovery.
| Part of a series on |
| Christian democracy |
|---|
 |
| Politics portal |
Helmut Kohl served as chairman until the party's electoral defeat in 1998, when he was succeeded by Wolfgang Schäuble; Schäuble resigned in early 2000 as a result of a party financing scandal and was replaced by Angela Merkel, who remains the leader of the CDU to this day. In the 1998 federal election, the CDU polled 28.4% and the CSU 6.7% of the national vote, which was the lowest result for CDU/CSU since 1949. Thus, a Red-Green coalition under the leadership of Gerhard Schröder took power until 2005. In 2002, the CDU and CSU polled slightly higher – 29.5% and 9.0%, respectively – but still lacked the majority needed for a CDU-FDP coalition government.
In 2005 early elections were called after the CDU dealt the governing SPD a major blow, winning more than ten state elections, most of which were landslide victories. The resulting grand coalition between the CDU/CSU and the SPD faced a serious challenge stemming from both parties’ demand for the chancellorship. After three weeks of negotiations, however, the two parties reached a deal whereby CDU received the chancellorship while the SPD retained 8 of the 16 seats in the cabinet and a majority of the most prestigious cabinet posts.[9][10] The coalition deal was approved by both parties at party conferences on November 14.[11] Merkel was confirmed as the first female Chancellor of Germany by the majority of delegates (397 to 217) in the newly assembled Bundestag on 22 November.[12]
Although the CDU/CSU lost support in the 2009 federal elections, the FDP experienced the best election cycle in their history, thereby enabling a CDU/CSU-FDP coalition. This marked the first change of coalition partner by a Chancellor in German history.
The loss of anti-Communism as a political theme, secularization, and the cultural revolutions occurring since the 1960s have challenged the viability of the CDU. In her 2005 campaign, Angela Merkel was unwilling to express explicitly Christian views, while maintaining that her party had never lost its "concept of values". Merkel and Bundestag President Norbert Lammert have been keen to clarify that CDU references to the "dominant culture" imply "tolerance and living together".[7] According to party analyst Stefan Eisel, however, her avoiding the values-issue may have had the opposite effect as she failed to mobilize the party's core constituency.[13]
While Adenauer and Erhard co-operated with non-Nazi parties to their right, since the 1990s CDU has worked to marginalize its right-wing opposition through the courts. A broadened definition of right-wing perils has allowed them to ban other than genuine Nazis as "threats to the democratic-liberal order".[7]
Internal structure
Members
In May 2012, the CDU had 484,397 members. The number has dropped by 3.1% in 2011 and 3.0% in 2010. The members' average age was 59 years. 6% of the Christian Democrats were under 30 years old.[1] A 2007 study by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation showed that 25.4% of members were female and 74.6% male. Female participation was higher in the former East German states with 29.2% compared to 24.8% in the former West German states.[14]
Before 1966, membership totals in CDU organisation were only estimated. The numbers after 1966 are based on the total from 31 December of the previous year.
Data about state party group
| State group | Chairman | Members | ||
| Baden-Württemberg | Thomas Strobl | 74,669 | ||
| Berlin | Frank Henkel | 12,568 | ||
| Brandenburg | Michael Schierack | 6,797 | ||
| Bremen | Jörg Kastendiek | 3,246 | ||
| Hamburg | Marcus Weinberg | 9,697 | ||
| Hesse | Volker Bouffier | 47,789 | ||
| Mecklenburg-Vorpommern | Lorenz Caffier | 6,038 | ||
| Lower Saxony | David McAllister (Hanover), Franz-Josef Holzenkamp (Oldenburg), Frank Oesterhelweg (Braunschweig) | 72,813 | ||
| North Rhine-Westphalia | Armin Laschet | 165,273 | ||
| Rhineland-Palatinate | Julia Klöckner | 49,856 | ||
| Saarland | Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer | 20,651 | ||
| Saxony | Stanislaw Tillich | 13,148 | ||
| Saxony-Anhalt | Thomas Webel | 8,410 | ||
| Schleswig-Holstein | Jost de Jager | 26,674 | ||
| Thuringia | Christine Lieberknecht | 12,035 | ||
Party strongholds
The traditional strongholds of the party are concentrated in rural and Catholic regions such as the Eifel, Münsterland, Sauerland, Fulda district, Emsland, Oldenburger Münsterland, the Thuringia Eichsfeld as well as areas in Nordfriesland, Saxony, Schwaben, Vorpommern, Taunus, and smaller cities such as Baden-Baden, Konstanz, and Pforzheim. There is less support in Bremen, in Brandenburg, and in East Berlin.
Relationship with the CSU
Both the CDU and the Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU) originated after World War II, sharing a concern for the Christian worldview. In the Federal Parliament (Bundestag), the CDU is represented in a common faction with the CSU. This faction is called CDU/CSU or, informally, "the Union;" its basis is a binding agreement known as a Fraktionsvertrag between the two parties.
The CDU and CSU share a common youth organisation: Junge Union.
On issues of federal policies the CDU and CSU don't differ[citation needed], but they remain legally and organisationally separate parties. The social differences between the CDU and the somewhat more socially conservative CSU have sometimes been a source of conflict in the past. The most notable and serious such incident was in 1976, when the CSU under Franz Josef Strauß ended the alliance with the CDU at a party conference in Wildbad Kreuth. This decision was reversed shortly thereafter when the CDU threatened to run candidates against the CSU in Bavaria.
The relationship of CDU to the CSU has historic parallels to previous Christian democratic parties in Germany, with the Catholic Centre Party having served as a national Catholic party throughout the Kaiserreich and the Weimar Republic with the Bavarian People's Party functioning as the Bavarian variant.
Konrad Adenauer Foundation
The Konrad Adenauer Foundation is the think-tank of the CDU. It is named after the first Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany and first president of the CDU. The foundation offers political education, conducts scientific fact-finding research for political projects, grants scholarships to gifted individuals, researches the history of Christian democracy, and supports and encourages European unification, international understanding, and development-policy cooperation. Its annual budget amounts to around 120 million Euro.[15]
Special organizations
Notable suborganisations of the CDU are:
- Junge Union (JU), the common youth organisation of the CDU and the CSU;
- Christian Democratic Employees' Association (CDA), a traditionally leftist association representing Christian Democratic wage-earners;
- Evangelical Working Group of the CDU/CSU (EAK, together with the CSU), representing the Protestant minority in the party;
- Association of Christian Democratic Students (RCDS), the student organisation of the party.
Chairmen/Chairwomen of the CDU, 1950-present
| Chairperson | Period |
|---|---|
| Konrad Adenauer | 1950–1966 |
| Ludwig Erhard | 1966–1967 |
| Kurt Georg Kiesinger | 1967–1971 |
| Rainer Barzel | 1971–1973 |
| Helmut Kohl | 1973–1998 |
| Wolfgang Schäuble | 1998–2000 |
| Angela Merkel | 2000–Present |
Parliamentary chairmen/chairwomen of the CDU/CSU group in the national parliament
| Chairperson of the CDU/CSU group | Period |
|---|---|
| Heinrich von Brentano di Tremezzo | 1949–1955 |
| Heinrich Krone | 1955–1961 |
| Heinrich von Brentano di Tremezzo | 1961–1964 |
| Rainer Barzel | 1964–1973 |
| Karl Carstens | 1973–1976 |
| Helmut Kohl | 1976–1982 |
| Alfred Dregger | 1982–1991 |
| Wolfgang Schäuble | 1991–2000 |
| Friedrich Merz | 2000–2002 |
| Angela Merkel | 2002–2005 |
| Volker Kauder | 2005–Present |
German Chancellors from CDU
| Chancellor of Germany | Time in office |
|---|---|
| Konrad Adenauer | 1949–1963 |
| Ludwig Erhard | 1963–1966 |
| Kurt Georg Kiesinger | 1966–1969 |
| Helmut Kohl | 1982–1998 |
| Angela Merkel | 2005–Present |
References
- ^ a b "Ausnahme Piraten und Grüne: Parteien laufen Mitglieder weg". n-tv (in German). 28 May 2012.
- ^ a b Wolfram Nordsieck. "The database about parliamentary elections and political parties in Europe". Parties-and-elections.eu. Retrieved 2012-06-03.
- ^ Boswell, Christina; Hough, Dan (April 2008). "Politicizing migration: opportunity or liability for the centre-right in Germany?". Journal of European Public Policy 15 (3): 331–48. doi:10.1080/13501760701847382.
- ^ T. Banchoff (28 June 1999). Legitimacy and the European Union. Taylor & Francis. pp. 126–. ISBN 978-0-415-18188-4. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
- ^ Mark Kesselman; Joel Krieger; Christopher S. Allen; Stephen Hellman (12 February 2008). European Politics in Transition. Cengage Learning. p. 229. ISBN 978-0-618-87078-3. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
- ^ Sarah Elise Wiliarty (16 August 2010). The CDU and the Politics of Gender in Germany: Bringing Women to the Party. Cambridge University Press. p. 221. ISBN 978-0-521-76582-4. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
- ^ a b c d Paul Gottfried: "The Rise and Fall of Christian Democracy in Europe", in Orbis, Fall 2007.
- ^ "Konrad Adenauer (1876-1967)".
- ^ "Merkel named as German chancellor". BBC News. October 10, 2005. Retrieved April 1, 2010.
- ^ CNN http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/10/13/germany.government.ap/
|url=missing title (help).[dead link] - ^ "German parties back new coalition". BBC News. November 14, 2005. Retrieved April 1, 2010.
- ^ "Merkel becomes German chancellor". BBC News. November 22, 2005. Retrieved April 1, 2010.
- ^ Stefan Eisel: Reale Regierungsopposition gegen gefühlte Oppositionsregierung Die Politische Meinung, Dezember 2005.
- ^ Die Mitglieder der CDU: Studie by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation
- ^ 2010 Annual Report p.93 (German)
Further reading
- Kleinmann, Hans-Otto (1993). Geschichte der CDU: 1945–1982. Stuttgart. ISBN 3-421-06541-1.
External links
- Official web site of the Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands
- Official web site of the European People's Party (EPP)
- http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/2WWeastGermany.htm
- http://countrystudies.us/germany/73.htm
- http://countrystudies.us/germany/166.htm
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Read in another language
This page is available in 62 languages
- Alemannisch
- العربية
- Azərbaycanca
- Bân-lâm-gú
- Беларуская
- Български
- Bosanski
- Brezhoneg
- Català
- Česky
- Dansk
- Deitsch
- Deutsch
- Eesti
- Ελληνικά
- Español
- Esperanto
- Euskara
- فارسی
- Français
- Frysk
- Gaelg
- Galego
- 한국어
- Hornjoserbsce
- Hrvatski
- Bahasa Indonesia
- Íslenska
- Italiano
- עברית
- ქართული
- Kiswahili
- Kurdî
- Latina
- Latviešu
- Lietuvių
- Magyar
- Македонски
- Bahasa Melayu
- Nederlands
- 日本語
- Norsk bokmål
- Norsk nynorsk
- Plattdüütsch
- Polski
- Português
- Română
- Русский
- Seeltersk
- Shqip
- Simple English
- Slovenčina
- Српски / srpski
- Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски
- Suomi
- Svenska
- Türkçe
- Українська
- Tiếng Việt
- Zazaki
- 中文
