Christian Social Union of Bavaria
Encyclopedia
The Christian Social Union in Bavaria is a Christian democratic
and conservative political party in Germany. It operates only in the state of Bavaria
, while its sister party, the Christian Democratic Union
(CDU), operates in the other 15 states of Germany
. It has 45 seats in the Bundestag
, making it the smallest of the six parties represented.
It was founded as a continuation of the Weimar
-era Catholic Bavarian People's Party
. At the federal level, it forms a common 'CDU/CSU
' faction in the Bundestag with the CDU, which is frequently referred to as the Union faction (die Unionsfraktion). The CSU currently governs at the federal level with the CDU
and FDP
. In the state of Bavaria, the CSU governs in a coalition with the FDP
.
The CSU is a member of the European People's Party
(EPP) and its MEPs
sit in the EPP Group. At the moment they have three ministers in Berlin, while party leader Horst Seehofer
serves as Minister-President of Bavaria: a position that CSU representatives have held since 1957.
he ran against the incumbent Helmut Schmidt
of the SPD
, but lost thereafter, as the SPD
and the FDP
managed to secure an absolute majority in a social-liberal coalition
.
The CSU has led the Bavarian state government since it came into existence in 1946, save from 1950 to 1953 when the Bavaria Party
formed a state government in coalition with the German Branches of the SPD
and the FDP
. The CSU currently governs with the FDP. Before the 2008 elections in Bavaria, the CSU perennially achieved absolute majorities at the state level. This level of dominance is unique among Germany's 16 states. Edmund Stoiber
took over the CSU leadership in 1999. He ran for Federal Chancellor in 2002, but his preferred CDU/CSU
and FDP
coalition lost against the SPD candidate Gerhard Schröder
s Red
-Green
coalition. In 2003, the CSU was re-elected
as the Bavarian government with a majority (60.7% and 124 of 180 seats in the state parliament). On 18 January 2007, Stoiber announced his decision to step down from the posts of minister-president and CSU chairman by 30 September of that year.
On 28 September 2008, the CSU failed to gain an absolute majority, attaining 43%, of the vote in the Bavaria state election
for the first time since 1966 on a percentage basis and was forced into a coalition with the FDP. Even after the 2009 general election, the CDU/CSU emerged as the largest party in Germany, yet both lost votes predominantly to the FDP. The CSU received only 42.5% of the vote in Bavaria in the 2009 election, which constitutes its weakest showing in the party's history. They have three ministers in Berlin: Hans-Peter Friedrich
(Federal Ministry of the Interior
), Peter Ramsauer (Federal Minister of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs) and Ilse Aigner
(Minister of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection).
. Together, they are called 'The Union'. The CSU operates only within Bavaria, and the CDU operates in all other states, but not Bavaria. While virtually independent, at the federal level, the parties form a common CDU/CSU
fraction. No Chancellor
has ever come from the CSU, although Franz Josef Strauss was the CDU/CSU candidate for Chancellor in 1980 election, which was won by the SPD
. Below the federal level, the parties are entirely independent.
Since its formation, the CSU has been more conservative than the CDU.
(1945–46, 1954–57) of the SPD
also holding the office.
Christian Democracy
Christian democracy is a political ideology that seeks to apply Christian principles to public policy. It emerged in nineteenth-century Europe under the influence of conservatism and Catholic social teaching...
and conservative political party in Germany. It operates only in the state of Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
, while its sister party, the Christian Democratic Union
Christian Democratic Union (Germany)
The Christian Democratic Union of Germany is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It is regarded as on the centre-right of the German political spectrum...
(CDU), operates in the other 15 states of Germany
Länder
Länder or Bundesländer may refer to:* States of Germany, the 16 federal subdivisions of Germany* States of Austria, the 9 federal subdivisions of Austria...
. It has 45 seats in the Bundestag
Bundestag
The Bundestag is a federal legislative body in Germany. In practice Germany is governed by a bicameral legislature, of which the Bundestag serves as the lower house and the Bundesrat the upper house. The Bundestag is established by the German Basic Law of 1949, as the successor to the earlier...
, making it the smallest of the six parties represented.
It was founded as a continuation of the Weimar
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government...
-era Catholic Bavarian People's Party
Bavarian People's Party
The Bavarian People's Party was the Bavarian branch of the Centre Party, which broke off from the rest of the party in 1919 to pursue a more conservative, more Catholic, more Bavarian particularist course...
. At the federal level, it forms a common 'CDU/CSU
CDU/CSU
CDU/CSU, unofficially also referred to as the Union parties or the Union, is the name of the Bundestag parliamentary faction comprising the Christian Democratic Union of Germany and the Christian Social Union of Bavaria , considered to be sister parties...
' faction in the Bundestag with the CDU, which is frequently referred to as the Union faction (die Unionsfraktion). The CSU currently governs at the federal level with the CDU
Christian Democratic Union (Germany)
The Christian Democratic Union of Germany is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It is regarded as on the centre-right of the German political spectrum...
and FDP
Free Democratic Party (Germany)
The Free Democratic Party , abbreviated to FDP, is a centre-right classical liberal political party in Germany. It is led by Philipp Rösler and currently serves as the junior coalition partner to the Union in the German federal government...
. In the state of Bavaria, the CSU governs in a coalition with the FDP
Free Democratic Party (Germany)
The Free Democratic Party , abbreviated to FDP, is a centre-right classical liberal political party in Germany. It is led by Philipp Rösler and currently serves as the junior coalition partner to the Union in the German federal government...
.
The CSU is a member of the European People's Party
European People's Party
The European People's Party is a pro-European centre-right European political party. The EPP was founded in 1976 by Christian democratic parties, but later it increased its membership to include conservative parties and parties of other centre-right perspectives.The EPP is the most influential of...
(EPP) and its MEPs
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
sit in the EPP Group. At the moment they have three ministers in Berlin, while party leader Horst Seehofer
Horst Seehofer
Horst Lorenz Seehofer is a German politician . He was Federal Minister for Health and Social Security from 1992 to 1998 and served as Federal Minister of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection in the cabinet of Angela Merkel from 2005 to 2008...
serves as Minister-President of Bavaria: a position that CSU representatives have held since 1957.
History
Franz Josef Strauss (1915–1988) had left behind the strongest legacy as a leader of the party, having led the party from 1961 until his death in 1988. His political career in the federal cabinet was unique in that he had served four ministerial posts in the years between 1953 and 1969. From 1978 until his death in 1988 he served as the minister-president of Bavaria. He was the first leader of the CSU to be a candidate for the German chancellery, in 1980. In the 1980 electionsGerman federal election, 1980
The 9th German federal election, 1980, was conducted on 5 October 1980, to elect members to the Bundestag of the Federal Republic of Germany.-Issues and Campaign:...
he ran against the incumbent Helmut Schmidt
Helmut Schmidt
Helmut Heinrich Waldemar Schmidt is a German Social Democratic politician who served as Chancellor of West Germany from 1974 to 1982. Prior to becoming chancellor, he had served as Minister of Defence and Minister of Finance. He had also served briefly as Minister of Economics and as acting...
of the SPD
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
, but lost thereafter, as the SPD
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
and the FDP
Free Democratic Party (Germany)
The Free Democratic Party , abbreviated to FDP, is a centre-right classical liberal political party in Germany. It is led by Philipp Rösler and currently serves as the junior coalition partner to the Union in the German federal government...
managed to secure an absolute majority in a social-liberal coalition
Social-liberal coalition
Social-liberal coalition in Germany refers to a governmental coalition formed by the Social Democratic Party and the Free Democratic Party .The term stems from social democracy of the SPD and the liberalism of the FDP...
.
The CSU has led the Bavarian state government since it came into existence in 1946, save from 1950 to 1953 when the Bavaria Party
Bavaria Party
The Bavaria Party is a separatist political party in the state of Bavaria in southern Germany. It was founded in 1946 and describes itself as patriotic Bavarian, advocating Bavarian independence within the European Union...
formed a state government in coalition with the German Branches of the SPD
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
and the FDP
Free Democratic Party (Germany)
The Free Democratic Party , abbreviated to FDP, is a centre-right classical liberal political party in Germany. It is led by Philipp Rösler and currently serves as the junior coalition partner to the Union in the German federal government...
. The CSU currently governs with the FDP. Before the 2008 elections in Bavaria, the CSU perennially achieved absolute majorities at the state level. This level of dominance is unique among Germany's 16 states. Edmund Stoiber
Edmund Stoiber
Edmund Rüdiger Stoiber is a German politician, former minister-president of the state of Bavaria and former chairman of the Christian Social Union...
took over the CSU leadership in 1999. He ran for Federal Chancellor in 2002, but his preferred CDU/CSU
CDU/CSU
CDU/CSU, unofficially also referred to as the Union parties or the Union, is the name of the Bundestag parliamentary faction comprising the Christian Democratic Union of Germany and the Christian Social Union of Bavaria , considered to be sister parties...
and FDP
Free Democratic Party (Germany)
The Free Democratic Party , abbreviated to FDP, is a centre-right classical liberal political party in Germany. It is led by Philipp Rösler and currently serves as the junior coalition partner to the Union in the German federal government...
coalition lost against the SPD candidate Gerhard Schröder
Gerhard Schröder
Gerhard Fritz Kurt Schröder is a German politician, and was Chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005. A member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany , he led a coalition government of the SPD and the Greens. Before becoming a full-time politician, he was a lawyer, and before becoming Chancellor...
s Red
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
-Green
Alliance '90/The Greens
Alliance '90/The Greens is a green political party in Germany, formed from the merger of the German Green Party and Alliance 90 in 1993. Its leaders are Claudia Roth and Cem Özdemir...
coalition. In 2003, the CSU was re-elected
Bavaria state election, 2003
The Bavaria state election, 2003, was conducted on September 21, 2003, to elect members to the Landtag of Bavaria.-Results:-Post-election:...
as the Bavarian government with a majority (60.7% and 124 of 180 seats in the state parliament). On 18 January 2007, Stoiber announced his decision to step down from the posts of minister-president and CSU chairman by 30 September of that year.
On 28 September 2008, the CSU failed to gain an absolute majority, attaining 43%, of the vote in the Bavaria state election
Bavaria state election, 2008
The 2008 Bavarian state election was held on September 28, 2008. Voters of the German state of Bavaria elected members to the Bavarian Landtag .-Outcome:...
for the first time since 1966 on a percentage basis and was forced into a coalition with the FDP. Even after the 2009 general election, the CDU/CSU emerged as the largest party in Germany, yet both lost votes predominantly to the FDP. The CSU received only 42.5% of the vote in Bavaria in the 2009 election, which constitutes its weakest showing in the party's history. They have three ministers in Berlin: Hans-Peter Friedrich
Hans-Peter Friedrich
Hans-Peter Friedrich is a German politician, representative of the Christian Social Union . He has been a member of the Bundestag of Germany since 1998. In the ongoing coalition negotiations with the Free Democratic Party, Friedrich was responsible for the portfolio of housing and development...
(Federal Ministry of the Interior
Federal Ministry of the Interior (Germany)
The Federal Ministry of the Interior is a ministry of the German federal government. Its main office is in Berlin, with a secondary seat in Bonn. The current minister of the interior is Dr...
), Peter Ramsauer (Federal Minister of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs) and Ilse Aigner
Ilse Aigner
Ilse Aigner is a German politician and member of the Christian Social Union of Bavaria .Aigner was born in Feldkirchen-Westerham, Rosenheim, Bavaria and entered Angela Merkel's grand coalition cabinet as Federal Minister of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection on 31 October 2008...
(Minister of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection).
Relationship with the CDU
The CSU is the sister party of the Christian Democratic UnionChristian Democratic Union (Germany)
The Christian Democratic Union of Germany is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It is regarded as on the centre-right of the German political spectrum...
. Together, they are called 'The Union'. The CSU operates only within Bavaria, and the CDU operates in all other states, but not Bavaria. While virtually independent, at the federal level, the parties form a common CDU/CSU
CDU/CSU
CDU/CSU, unofficially also referred to as the Union parties or the Union, is the name of the Bundestag parliamentary faction comprising the Christian Democratic Union of Germany and the Christian Social Union of Bavaria , considered to be sister parties...
fraction. No Chancellor
Chancellor of Germany
The Chancellor of Germany is, under the German 1949 constitution, the head of government of Germany...
has ever come from the CSU, although Franz Josef Strauss was the CDU/CSU candidate for Chancellor in 1980 election, which was won by the SPD
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
. Below the federal level, the parties are entirely independent.
Since its formation, the CSU has been more conservative than the CDU.
Party chairmen
| Chairman | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Josef Müller | 17 December 1945 | 28 May 1949 |
| 2nd | Hans Ehard Hans Ehard Hans Ehard was a German lawyer and politician, a member of the Christian Social Union party.-Life:... |
28 May 1949 | 22 January 1955 |
| 3rd | Hanns Seidel Hanns Seidel Hanns Seidel was a German politician and Bavarian prime minister from 1957 to 1960. He belonged to the conservative Christian Social Union of Bavaria party.-Life:... |
22 January 1955 | 16 February 1961 |
| 4th | Franz Josef Strauss | 18 March 1961 | 3 October 1988 |
| 5th | Theodor Waigel Theodor Waigel Theodor "Theo" Waigel is a German politician of the Christian Social Union in Bavaria.Waigel is a lawyer, and earned a doctorate in 1967. He was a member of the Bundestag from 1972 to 2002... |
16 November 1988 | 16 January 1999 |
| 6th | Edmund Stoiber Edmund Stoiber Edmund Rüdiger Stoiber is a German politician, former minister-president of the state of Bavaria and former chairman of the Christian Social Union... |
16 January 1999 | 29 September 2007 |
| 7th | Erwin Huber Erwin Huber Erwin Huber is a German conservative politician. He was leader of the Christian Social Union of Bavaria from 2007 to 2009.-Early life:... |
29 September 2007 | 25 October 2008 |
| 8th | Horst Seehofer Horst Seehofer Horst Lorenz Seehofer is a German politician . He was Federal Minister for Health and Social Security from 1992 to 1998 and served as Federal Minister of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection in the cabinet of Angela Merkel from 2005 to 2008... |
25 October 2008 | Present day |
Ministers-President
The CSU has contributed eleven of the twelve Ministers-President of Bavaria since 1945, with only Wilhelm HoegnerWilhelm Hoegner
Wilhelm Hoegner was the second Bavarian prime minister after World War II and father of the Bavarian constitution. He has been the only Social Democrat to hold this office....
(1945–46, 1954–57) of the SPD
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
also holding the office.
| Minister-President | From | To |
|---|---|---|
| Fritz Schäffer Fritz Schäffer Fritz Schäffer was a German politician for the Bavarian People's Party and the Christian Social Union . In 1945 he became the first Bavarian Minister-President after World War II... |
28 May 1945 | 28 September 1945 |
| Hans Ehard Hans Ehard Hans Ehard was a German lawyer and politician, a member of the Christian Social Union party.-Life:... (1st time) |
21 December 1946 | 14 December 1954 |
| Hanns Seidel Hanns Seidel Hanns Seidel was a German politician and Bavarian prime minister from 1957 to 1960. He belonged to the conservative Christian Social Union of Bavaria party.-Life:... |
16 October 1957 | 22 January 1960 |
| Hans Ehard Hans Ehard Hans Ehard was a German lawyer and politician, a member of the Christian Social Union party.-Life:... (2nd time) |
26 January 1960 | 11 December 1962 |
| Alfons Goppel Alfons Goppel Alfons Goppel was a German politician of the CSU party and Prime Minister of Bavaria .-Life:... |
11 December 1962 | 6 November 1978 |
| Franz Josef Strauss | 6 November 1978 | 3 October 1988 |
| Max Streibl Max Streibl Max Streibl was a German politician of the CSU party and former Minister President of Bavaria.-Life:Max Streibel was born in Oberammergau in 1932, where his parents owned a hotel business... |
19 October 1988 | 27 May 1993 |
| Edmund Stoiber Edmund Stoiber Edmund Rüdiger Stoiber is a German politician, former minister-president of the state of Bavaria and former chairman of the Christian Social Union... |
28 May 1993 | 30 September 2007 |
| Günther Beckstein Günther Beckstein Günther Beckstein is a Bavarian CSU politician and was Minister-President of Bavaria from 9 October 2007 to 27 October 2008... |
9 October 2007 | 27 October 2008 |
| Horst Seehofer Horst Seehofer Horst Lorenz Seehofer is a German politician . He was Federal Minister for Health and Social Security from 1992 to 1998 and served as Federal Minister of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection in the cabinet of Angela Merkel from 2005 to 2008... |
27 October 2008 | Present day |
See also
- Christian Democratic Union of Germany
- Politics of GermanyPolitics of GermanyThe Federal Republic of Germany is a federal parliamentary republic, based on representative democracy. The Chancellor is the head of government, while the President of Germany is the head of state, which is a ceremonial role but with substantial reserve powers.Executive power is vested in the...
External links
- Christlich-Soziale Union – Official site (English page)