Social Democratic Party of Germany

Social Democratic Party of Germany Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands
Abbreviation	SPD
Chairman	Martin Schulz
Secretary-General	Hubertus Heil
Vice Chairpeople	Ralf Stegner Thorsten Schäfer-Gümbel Olaf Scholz Manuela Schwesig Aydan Özoğuz
Founded	23 May 1863 (1863-05-23)
Merger of	ADAV and SDAP
Headquarters	Willy-Brandt-Haus D-10911 Berlin
Newspaper	"Vorwärts"
Student wing	Socialist German Student Union (1946–1961), Juso-Hochschulgruppen (since 1973)
Youth wing	Jusos
Women's wing	Association of Social Democratic Women
Membership (2015)	445,534 [1]
Ideology	Social democracy[2] Pro-Europeanism
Political position	Centre-left[3]
European affiliation	Party of European Socialists
International affiliation	Progressive Alliance, Socialist International
European Parliament group	Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats
Colors	Red
Bundestag	193 / 630
State Parliaments	516 / 1,821
European Parliament	27 / 96
Prime Ministers of States	7 / 16
Website
www.spd.de
Politics of Germany Political parties Elections

The Social Democratic Party of Germany (German: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, SPD) is a social-democratic^[4][5][6] political party in Germany. The party, led by Chairman Martin Schulz since 2017, has become one of the two major contemporary political parties in Germany, along with the Christian Democratic Union (CDU).

The SPD has governed at the federal level in Germany as part of a grand coalition with the CDU and the Christian Social Union (CSU) since December 2013 following the results of the 2013 federal election. The SPD participates in 14 state governments, nine of them governed by SPD Minister-Presidents.

The SPD is a member of the Party of European Socialists and of the Socialist International, and became a founding member of the Progressive Alliance on 22 May 2013.^[7][8][9] Established in 1863, the SPD is the oldest extant political party represented in the German Parliament and was one of the first Marxist-influenced parties in the world.

History

Membership development after 1945

The General German Workers' Association (Allgemeiner Deutscher Arbeiterverein, ADAV), founded in 1863, and the Social Democratic Workers' Party (Sozialdemokratische Arbeiterpartei Deutschlands, SDAP), founded in 1869, merged in 1875, under the name Socialist Workers' Party of Germany (Sozialistische Arbeiterpartei Deutschlands, SAPD). From 1878 to 1890, any grouping or meeting that aimed at spreading socialist principles was banned under the Anti-Socialist Laws, but the party still gained support in elections. In 1890, when the ban was lifted and it could again present electoral lists, the party adopted its current name. In the years leading up to World War I, the party remained ideologically radical in official principle, although many party officials tended to be moderate in everyday politics. By 1912, the party claimed the most votes of any German party.

Despite the agreement of the Second International to oppose the First World War, the SPD voted in favor of war in 1914. In response to this and the Bolshevik Revolution, members of the left and of the far-left of the SPD formed alternative parties, first the Spartacus League, then the Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany and later the Communist Party of Germany. After 1918 the SPD played an important role in the political system of the Weimar Republic, although it took part in coalition governments only in few years (1918–1921, 1923, 1928–1930). Adolf Hitler prohibited the party in 1933 under the Enabling Act – party officials were imprisoned, killed or went into exile. In exile, the party used the name Sopade. The SPD had been the only party to vote against the Enabling Act (while the Communist Party was blocked from voting).

In 1945, the allied occupants in the Western zones initially allowed four parties to be established, which led to the Christian Democratic Union, the Free Democratic Party, the Communist Party of Germany, and the SPD being established. In the Soviet Zone of Occupation, the Soviets forced the Social Democrats to form a common party with the Communists (Socialist Unity Party of Germany or SED). In the Western zones, the Communist Party was later (1956) banned by West Germany's Federal Constitutional Court. Since 1949, in the Federal Republic of Germany, the SPD has been one of the two major parties, with the other being the Christian Democratic Union. From 1969 to 1982 and 1998 to 2005 the Chancellors of Germany were Social Democrats whereas the other years the Chancellors were Christian Democrats.

Party platform

The SPD was established as a Marxist party in 1875. However, the SPD underwent a major shift in policies reflected in the differences between the Heidelberg Program of 1925, which "called for the transformation of the capitalist system of private ownership of the means of production to social ownership",^[10] and the Godesberg Program of 1959, which aimed to broaden its voter base and move its political position toward the centre.^[11] After World War II, under the leadership of Kurt Schumacher, the SPD re-established itself as a socialist party, representing the interests of the working class and the trade unions. With the Godesberg Program of 1959, however, the party evolved from a socialist working-class party to a modern social-democratic party working within capitalism.

Sigmar Gabriel, Vice-Chancellor of Germany (2013-present), former chairman of SPD.

The current party platform of the SPD espouses the goal of social democracy, which is seen as a vision of a societal arrangement in which freedom and social justice are paramount. According to the party platform, freedom, justice, and social solidarity, form the basis of social democracy. The coordinated social market economy should be strengthened, and its output should be distributed fairly. The party sees that economic system as necessary in order to ensure the affluence of the entire population. The SPD also tries to protect the society's poor with a welfare state. Concurrently, it advocates a sustainable fiscal policy that doesn't place a burden on future generations while eradicating budget deficits. In social policy, the SPD stands for civil and political rights in an open society. In foreign policy, the SPD aims at ensuring global peace by balancing global interests with democratic means. Thus, European integration is one of the main priorities of the SPD. SPD supports economic regulations to limit potential losses for banks and people. They support a common European economic and financial policy, and to prevent speculative bubbles. They support environmentally sustainable growth.^[12]

Internal groupings

The SPD is mostly composed of members belonging to either of the two main wings: Keynesian social democrats and Third Way moderate social democrats belonging to the Seeheimer Kreis. While the moderate, Seeheimer Kreis social democrats strongly support the Agenda 2010 reformist programs introduced by Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, the Keynesian social democrats continue to defend classical left-wing policies and the welfare state. The classical left-wing of the SPD claims that in recent years the welfare state has been curtailed through reform programs such as the Agenda 2010, Hartz IV and the more economic liberal stance of the SPD, which were endorsed by right-wing social democrats. As a reaction to the Agenda 2010, there was in 2005 the ascension of an inner party dissident movement, which led ultimately to the foundation of the new party Labour and Social Justice – The Electoral Alternative (Arbeit & soziale Gerechtigkeit – Die Wahlalternative, WASG). The WASG was later merged into the party Die Linke ("The Left") in 2007.^[13]

Base of support

Social structure

Before World War II, as the main non-revolutionary left-wing party, the Social Democrats fared best among non-Catholic workers as well as intellectuals favouring social progressive causes and increased economic equality. Led by Kurt Schumacher after World War II, the SPD initially opposed both the social market economy and Konrad Adenauer's drive towards western integration fiercely, but after Schumacher's death, it accepted the social market economy and Germany's position in the Western alliance in order to appeal to a broader range of voters. It still remains associated with the economic causes of unionised employees and working class voters. In the 1990s, the left and moderate wings of the party drifted apart, culminating in a secession of a significant number of party members, which later joined the socialist party WASG, which later merged into The Left (Die Linke) party.

Geographic distribution

Geographically, much of the SPD's current-day support comes from large cities, especially of northern and western Germany and Berlin. The metropolitan area of the Ruhr Area, where coal mining and steel production were once the biggest sources of revenues, have provided a significant base for the SPD in the 20th century. In the state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen the SPD has governed without interruption since 1949. In southern Germany, the SPD typically garners less support except in the largest cities. At the 2009 federal election, the party lost its only constituency in the entire state of Bavaria (in Munich). Small town and rural support comes especially from the traditionally Protestant areas of northern Germany and Brandenburg (with notable exceptions such as Western Pomerania where CDU leader Angela Merkel was re-elected in 2005) and a number of university towns. A striking example of the general pattern is the traditionally Catholic Emsland, where the Social Democrats generally gain a low percentage of votes, whereas the Reformed Protestant region of East Frisia directly to the north, with its strong traditional streak of Anti-Catholicism, is one of their strongest constituencies. Further south, the SPD also enjoys solid support in northern Hesse (Hans Eichel was mayor of Kassel, then Hesse's minister president, then finance minister in the Schröder administration, while Brigitte Zypries served as Justice Minister), parts of Palatinate (Kurt Beck was party leader until 7 September 2008), and the Saarland (political home of one-time candidate for federal chancellor Oskar Lafontaine, defected from the SPD in 2005).

Election results

Federal Parliament (Bundestag)

Election year	# of constituency votes	# of party list votes	% of party list votes	# of overall seats won	+/–	Government
1949		6,934,975	29.2	131 / 402		First Opposition
1953	8,131,257	7,944,943	28.8	162 / 509	22	First Opposition
1957	11,975,400	11,875,339	31.8	181 / 519	19	First Opposition
1961	11,672,057	11,427,355	36.2	203 / 521	22	First Opposition
1965	12,998,474	12,813,186	39.3	217 / 518	14	Junior in Govt Coalition with the CDU/CSU
1969	14,402,374	14,065,716	42.7	237 / 518	20	Leading Govt coalition with the FDP
1972	18,228,239	17,175,169	45.8	242 / 518	5	Leading Govt coalition with the FDP
1976	16,471,321	16,099,019	42.6	224 / 518	18	Leading Govt coalition with the FDP
1980	16,808,861	16,260,677	42.9	228 / 519	4	Leading Govt coalition with the FDP
						First Opposition (from 1982)
1983	15,686,033	14,865,807	38.2	202 / 520	26	First Opposition
1987	14,787,953	14,025,763	37.0	193 / 519	9	First Opposition
1990	16,279,980	15,545,366	33.5	239 / 662	46	First Opposition
1994	17,966,813	17,140,354	36.4	252 / 672	13	First Opposition
1998	21,535,893	20,181,269	40.9	298 / 669	43	Leading Govt coalition with the Greens
2002	20,059,967	18,484,560	38.5	251 / 603	47	Leading Govt coalition with the Greens
2005	18,129,100	16,194,665	34.2	222 / 614	29	Junior in Govt Coalition with the CDU/CSU
2009	12,077,437	9,988,843	23.0	146 / 622	76	First Opposition
2013	12,835,933	11,247,283	25.7	193 / 630	42	Junior in Govt Coalition with the CDU/CSU

European Parliament

Election year	# of overall votes	% of overall vote	# of overall seats won	+/–
1979	11,370,045	40.8 (#1)	33 / 81
1984	9,296,417	37.4 (#2)	32 / 81	1
1989	10,525,728	37.3 (#1)	30 / 81	2
1994	11,389,697	32.2 (#1)	40 / 99	10
1999	8,307,085	30.7 (#2)	33 / 99	7
2004	5,547,971	21.5 (#2)	23 / 99	10
2009	5,472,566	20.8 (#2)	23 / 99	0
2014	7,999,955	27.2 (#2)	27 / 96	4

See also

• Politics of Germany
• Party finance in Germany
• List of political parties in Germany
• Bundestag (Federal Assembly of Germany)
• Weimar Republic
• Mierscheid Law
• Elections in the Free State of Prussia

References

Further reading

• Orlow, Dietrich. Common Destiny: A Comparative History of the Dutch, French, and German Social Democratic Parties, 1945–1969 (2000) online
• Carl E. Schorske, German Social Democracy, 1905–1917: The Development of the Great Schism (Harvard University Press, 1955).
• Vernon L. Lidtke, The Outlawed Party: Social Democracy in Germany, 1878–1890 (Princeton University Press, 1966).
• Berlau, Abraham. German Social Democratic Party, 1914–1921 (Columbia University Press, 1949).
• McAdams, A. James. "Germany Divided: From the Wall to Reunification." Princeton University Press, 1992 and 1993.
• Erich Matthias, The Downfall of the Old Social Democratic Party in 1933 pages 51–105 from Republic to Reich The Making of the Nazi Revolution Ten Essays edited by Hajo Holborn, (New York: Pantheon Books, 1972).
• Eric D. Weitz, Creating German Communism, 1890-1990: From Popular Protests to Socialist State. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1997
• David Priestand, Red Flag: A History of Communism," New York: Grove Press, 2009

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Social Democratic Party of Germany.

• Official website (in German)
• History of the German social-democratic party from Lassalle to Kautsky, by fractal-vortex