Party Platform
From Wikipedia
The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) applies the principles of Christian democracy and emphasizes the “Christian understanding of humans and their responsibility toward God.” Members of the party are do not have to belong to a certain religion or be religious at all. Its policies are derived from Political Catholicism, Catholic school teachings, and political Protestantism. The CDU supports European integration and a strong relation with the US. They do not want to allow Turkey to enter the European Union but want a privileged partnership. They cited Turkey for numerous human rights violations and they believe that because Turkey is unwilling to recognize Cyprus as an independent, sovereign state, Turkey is contradicting the EU policy that its member must recognize the existence of one another. The CDU supports stronger punishments of crime and involvement on the part of the Bundeswehr (armed forces) in cases of domestic anti-terrorism offensives. The CDU believes that Germany should integrate immigrants through language courses and wants to further control of immigration. They also believe that dual citizenship should only be allowed in exceptional cases.
Opponents/Supporters
Opponents of the CDU include the SPD, The Left party, and The Greens. The CDU has governed two Grand Coalitions with the SPD and various coalitions with The Greens. A preferred partner of the CDU is the FDP, who has similar attitudes towards fiscal policy.
States that support the CDU are concentrated in rural and Catholic regions such as Eifel, Sauerland, Thuringia Eichsfeld as well as areas in Saxony, Vorpommern, and Nordfriesland. There is less support in Bremen, Brandenburg, and East Berlin.
Similar Parties
The party most similar to the CDU would be our Republican Party. Both parties advocate for fiscal conservatism and support the use of armed forces for anti-terrorism offensives. The Republican Party and the CDU have affiliations with the International Democratic Union. The IDU allows political parties with similar views to come together and exchange views on matters of policy and organizational interest.
Views
They are currently focussed on weathering the financial troubles of the last few years.It is among their goals to keep the economy competitive, and taxes low. They have been going by the slogan “Germany’s future: in good hands.” They also stand for protection and promotion of the family. Most recently, the party has put its efforts on phasing out nuclear power.
History
Following the collapse of the Third Reich and the end of WWII. Germany began restricting its government. This brought about the Christian Democratic Union. The CDU aimed to establish a union, and as such a party of German people, something the likes of the Weimar Republic failed to achieve. The CDU was founded in Berlin on the 26th of June 1945, 49 days after VE-Day. The party spread out to Westphalia and Rhineland after its formation. The first Chancellor of Germany since WW2 was Konrad Adenauer (serving 1949-1963) of the CDU. Adenauer was imprisoned twice during the Nazi years, under the accusation of ‘Opponent to the Regime.’ Adenauer and his colleagues were successful in taking power because of their views of; economic flexibility, and oppositional to the Nazis, two attributes favored by the United States and Britain. The CDU would lose their grasp when Adenauer was replaced. Moving forward, the next successful leader was Helmut Kohl (serving 1982-1998). Kohl was the longest running chancellor since Otto Von Bismarck. Kohl was seen a main architect for the reunification of Germany, and the creation of the EU in 1993. Today, the current Chancellor of Germany is Angela Merkel. She, a Research Chemist and Politician started as an opposition leader in 1998 versus the SPD. Merkel became chancellor in 2005 and remains chancellor today. She is currently ranked 5th on Forbes.com’s most important people list, the highest achieved position of a woman.
Members
The Christian Democratic Union has roughly 485,000 members, as of May 2012. Each German state had a series of members, and a chairperson. North Rhine-Westphalia had the most members of any state in Germany, with more than 165,000 members. The chairperson of North Rhine-Westphalia, representing the CDU, is Armin Laschet. Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany, is the chairperson of the CDU party.
The average age of members in the party is 59. Less than 6% of members are under the age of 30. 75% of the party’s members are male, and the remaining 25% are female members. Therefore, this party has a strong population of middle aged adults and seniors.
Sources
Presentation:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/11W1o3CQhiQKQG_s8SHYSs7lT2u9Q3Eh_G2eTxxfpH-A/edit?usp=sharing
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