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Germany has two dominant political parties: the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the liberal Democratic Socialist Party (SPD). The CDU is the largest party and supports environmental protection, economic freedom, and self-determination. The SPD is centered on socialist concepts and improving workers’ rights. There are also smaller parties, including the Free Democratic Party, the Left Party, and the Green Party. The German government is a parliamentary representative democratic republic with a parliament consisting of the Bundestag and the Bundesrat. The CDU and SPD have dominated the Bundestag since 1949.
There are two dominant political parties in Germany, namely the Christlich-Demokratische Union (CDU), which translates as Christian Democratic Union; and the Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands (SPD), which is the Democratic Socialist Party. In general the CDU is more conservative while the SPD is more liberal and progressive, and one of these two parties has held national control for almost all of the recent past. There are also a number of smaller parties from which individual representatives are elected, although few of these have ever seen national power. The German government is structured as a parliamentary representative democracy and is led by both a head of state and a head of government. Most important decisions are filtered through elected MPs who are directly affiliated with the ideologies and support of a particular political party.
Christian Democratic Union
Overall, the CDU is Germany’s largest and most powerful party. It evolved from the Center Party, formed in 1870. The CDU is a centre-right political party and is based on non-denominational Christian ideals. Consequently, this political party supports environmental protection and equality between men, women and children. While advocating a socialist market economy, the CDU seeks free-market integration with the European Union (EU). Representatives of this party generally uphold stronger German values and traditions and place emphasis on economic freedom and self-determination.
The Christian Socialist Union (CSU) is a closely related party but exists only in Bavaria which is a defined region of Germany with a unique history and identity. While the CDU and CSU maintain separate political structures, they cooperate at the federal level. Together they are referred to as The Union. These parties have adherents of many faiths, but have certain affinities; they are often thought to be more aligned with Roman Catholic church ideologies than Protestant beliefs, for example. Yet today the Union has become less Christian-focused and generally bases its policies on pragmatism rather than religion or ideology.
Democratic Socialist Party
While the CDU may be the largest party, the SPD, founded in 1863, is the oldest. It is a left-wing party centered on socialist concepts. While the SPD continues to uphold social ideals, such as improving workers’ rights, it also adopts free market concepts. The SPD fell from power during the Nazi era but revived in West Germany and joined the independent SPD in East Germany in 1990. The party went on to take power in 1998 under Gerhard Schroeder.
marginal parties
Like most political systems, Germany has representatives in government from many other smaller, independent political movements. While most of these are too small to ever achieve national prominence, having many options is often considered very important to a free and functional system. The three most popular minor parties in modern German politics include the Free Democratic Party, the Left Party and the Green Party. Free Democrats have a platform that focuses on a free market economy, individual freedoms, and the social characteristics of a welfare state. In general, the Lefts are socialist politicians with large support in East Germany, where the party has its original roots. It is often considered a protest party, focusing on unemployment rates, health care costs, and worker benefits. The Greens, as their name might suggest, have focused on environmental and pacifist issues since the party’s inception in the 1970s.
General understanding of the German government structure
All of these parties operate within the larger structure of German government, and putting their power into context often requires at least a general understanding of how the system works on a larger level. The German government is a parliamentary representative democratic republic. This means that it has a parliament, or legislature, which upholds executive power, including the head of state. It is also a representative democracy, which means that the people vote to elect their own representatives who, in turn, vote on behalf of the people. Finally, the German government is a republic, which understands this notion of being led by the people rather than a monarch, for example.
The German parliament consists of two chambers, the Bundestag, which means Federal Diet, and the Bundesrat, which means Federal Council. The Bundestag is the only chamber of parliament composed of directly elected federal officials. The Bundesrat is the lower house, made up of members of the state council who are more easily removed from parliament than their counterparts in the Bundestag. The CDU and the SPD have dominated the Bundestag since 1949.
