German Politics

Germany’s government works as a federal parliamentary representative democratic republic, a fact that can make German politics somewhat difficult to follow. The German government operates on a multi-party system, and its citizens elect a number of candidates from different parties—however, two political parties have come to dominate the political landscape: the Christian Democratic Union and the Social Democratic Party of Germany. German politics were constructed in detail within the government’s constitution, which was drafted in 1949, and is known as Grundgesetz, or Basic Law.

The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) was founded in Berlin in 1945, and is still headquartered there today. It represents the conservative side of German politics, and is led by the incumbent chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel. It is also the largest political party in Germany. The CDU was formed by a now defunct Catholic political party with the intent to incorporate Protestants in a united party. The CDU dominated German politics from the formation of the new government in West Germany until 1963. A recession during the 1960s caused the party’s influence to diminish, and it began to ally with the SPD in government. The CDU was then the minority party in the German government until 1982, a period when it developed more of its standpoints on foreign and economic policy. In 1989, when the Berlin Wall fell, and again in 1990, when the East Germans reunified with the West, the CDU attracted even more popularity, and therefore had more influence than ever before. During the 2005 elections, the party won landslide victories, taking more than ten state elections from the SPD. When both parties asked for the chancellorship, the CDU negotiated for it and won, giving the SPD some of the more prestigious cabinet seats in exchange.

The other major party in German politics is the Social Democratic Party, or the SPD. This party was founded in 1863, and also has its headquarters in Berlin. One of Germany’s oldest political groups, the SPD reinvented itself after World War II under the leadership of Kurt Schumacher, retooling itself as a party of idealists who represented the working classes and trade unions. During the time of the Third Reich, Adolph Hitler actually forbade the SPD from functioning as a party and exiled several of its leaders. The SPD, which was originally a socialist party, later shifted its politics closer to the center in order to attract more voters. The SPD believes that the German economy should be modernized to meet the needs of globalization by making it a social market economy. In terms of social policy, the SPD has an extremely liberal position on issues such as civil rights and the creation of an open society. The SPD has controlled the German parliament during two extended periods, first from 1969 to 1982, then from 1998 to 2002. Along with the CDU, these two parties are the major forces at work in German politics.