(with its sister party, the Christian Social Union in the same parliamentary group). Furthermore, it has three minor parties, the
. The federal government of Germany has - except for a few days in between - always consisted of either a coalition of a bigger and a smaller party, a coalition of the two big parties or, in one case, a single-party government in 1957.
or state diets are often described by party colors. Party colors are the Social Democratic Party being red, the green Alliance '90/The Greens, the yellow Free Democratic Party, the red-red The Left, and the black Christian Democratic Union. So a coalition of CDU, Alliance '90/The Greens and FDP is called a
| Name (English) |
Name (German) |
Abbr. |
Leader |
Ideology |
Position |
International organizations |
Votes (2009) |
Seats in BundestagThe Bundestag is the parliament of Germany. It was established with Germany's constitution of 1949 and is the successor of the earlier Reichstag...
|
Notes |
| Christian Democratic Union The Christian Democratic Union of Germany is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany....
|
Christlich Demokratische Union |
CDU |
Angela Merkel' is the current Chancellor of Germany. Merkel, elected to the German Parliament from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, has been the chairwoman of the Christian Democratic Union since 10 April 2000, and Chairwoman of the CDU-CSU parliamentary party group from 2002 to 2005...
|
Christian democracyChristian democracy is a political ideology that seeks to apply Christian principles to public policy. It emerged in nineteenth-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social teaching, and it continues to be influential in Europe and Latin America, though in a number of countries...
and conservatismConservatism is the diverse political and social philosophy that supports tradition and the status quo, or that calls for a return to the values and society of an earlier age, the status quo ante. However, the term has been used by politicians and political commentators with a variety of meanings...
|
centre-right The centre-right , also known as right of center, is a political term commonly used to describe or denote individuals, political parties, or organizations whose views stretch from the centre to the right on the left-right spectrum, excluding far right stances...
|
Centrist Democrat International The Centrist Democrat International was until 2001 the Christian Democrat International and before that the Christian Democrat and People's Parties International...
and International Democrat UnionThe International Democrat Union is a center-right international grouping of conservative, Christian-democratic and Liberal-conservative political parties....
|
27.3% |
194 |
Is part of the common CDU/CSU faction in the Bundestag |
Social Democratic PartyThe Social Democratic Party of Germany is Germany's oldest political party. The party governed at the federal level in a grand coalition with the Christian Democratic Union and the Christian Social Union until conceding defeat in the federal election of September 2009...
|
Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands |
SPD |
Frank-Walter Steinmeier Frank-Walter Steinmeier is a German politician who has served as the Foreign Minister of Germany since 22 November 2005 in the grand coalition of Angela Merkel. On 21 November 2007, he replaced Franz Müntefering as Vice Chancellor. In the first half of 2007 he was also President of the European...
(candidate for Chancellor) and Franz Müntefering' is a German politician and industrial manager. He is Chairman of the Social Democratic Party since 18 October 2008, a position he already held from 2004 to 2005. He was Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, as well as Vice-Chancellor, from 2005 to 2007.-Biography:He was born in Neheim ...
(leader) |
Social democracySocial democracy is a political ideology of the political left and centre-left on the classic political spectrum. Social democracy emerged in the late 19th century from the socialist movement and continues to exert influence worldwide....
|
centre-left The centre-left , also known as left of center, is a political term commonly used to describe or denote individuals, political parties or organisations whose views stretch from the centre to the left on the left-right spectrum, excluding far left stances.- Ideological definition of the...
|
Socialist International The Socialist International is a worldwide organisation of democratic socialist, social democratic, socialist, and labour political parties. It was formed in 1951.- History :...
|
23.0% |
146 |
|
| Free Democratic Party The Free Democratic Party is a classical liberal, pro-business political party in Germany. International counterparts include the Liberal Democrats of the United Kingdom, Yabloko in Russia and the Democratic Alliance in South Africa. It is a member of the Liberal International...
|
Freie Demokratische Partei |
FDP |
Guido WesterwelleGuido Westerwelle is a German politician and leader of the Free Democratic Party of Germany . Following the German federal election, 2009, Westerwelle is widely expected to become Foreign Minister and Vice Chancellor of Germany in a coalition government with the conservative CDU/CSU parties,...
|
LiberalismLiberalism is the belief in the importance of individual freedom. This belief is widely accepted today throughout the world, and was recognized as an important value by many philosophers throughout history...
|
centre |
Liberal InternationalLiberal International is a political international for liberal parties. Its headquarters are located at 1 Whitehall Place, London, SW1A 2HD within the National Liberal Club. It was founded in Oxford in 1947, and has become the pre-eminent network for liberal parties and for the strengthening of...
|
14.6% |
93 |
|
The LeftThe Left , is a democratic socialist political party in Germany. The Left is the most left-wing party of the five represented in the Bundestag....
|
DIE LINKE |
Lothar Bisky Lothar Bisky was the chairman of the PDS, the successor of the communist party of East Germany, the SED. In June 2007 he became co-chairmen of the The Left party, formed by a merger of the PDS and the much smaller Labour and Social Justice – The Electoral Alternative...
and
Oskar LafontaineOskar Lafontaine is a German politician, former German finance minister, former chairman of the Social Democratic Party and former prime minister of the state of Saarland...
|
Democratic SocialismDemocratic socialism is a description used by various socialist movements and organizations, to emphasize the democratic character of their political orientation...
|
left-wing In politics, left-wing, political left, leftist and the Left are terms used to describe a number of positions and ideologies. They are most commonly used to refer to support for changing traditional social orders or for creating a more egalitarian distribution of wealth and privilege...
|
Party of the European LeftThe Party of the European Left, commonly abbreviated to just the European Left, is a political party at European level and an association of democratic socialist and communist political parties in the European Union and other European countries. It was formed in January 2004 for the purposes of...
|
11.9% |
76 |
merger of the The Left Party.PDS and WASG |
| Alliance '90/The Greens The Alliance '90/The Greens is a green political party in Germany which originated from the merger of the German Green Party and Alliance 90 in 1993. Its leaders are Claudia Roth and Cem Özdemir...
|
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen |
GRÜNE |
Claudia Roth Claudia Benedikta Roth is a German Green Party politician and one of the two current party chairs, together with Cem Özdemir.- Biography :...
and
Cem ÖzdemirCem Özdemir is a German politician. He is the co-leader of the German party Alliance '90/The Greens. He is a former Member of Parliament and currently a Member of the European Parliament for his party....
|
Green PoliticsGreen politics is a political ideology which places a high importance on environmental goals, and on achieving these goals through broad-based, grassroots, participatory democracy...
|
centre-left The centre-left , also known as left of center, is a political term commonly used to describe or denote individuals, political parties or organisations whose views stretch from the centre to the left on the left-right spectrum, excluding far left stances.- Ideological definition of the...
|
Global Greens The Global Greens is a global network of Green parties and political movements. It was founded in 2001 in Canberra, Australia at the second Global Greens Conference, where the Global Green Charter was approved....
|
10.7% |
68 |
merger of Die Grünen and Bündnis 90 |
| Christian Social Union |
Christlich-Soziale Union |
CSU |
Horst SeehoferHorst 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...
|
Christian democracyChristian democracy is a political ideology that seeks to apply Christian principles to public policy. It emerged in nineteenth-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social teaching, and it continues to be influential in Europe and Latin America, though in a number of countries...
and conservatismConservatism is the diverse political and social philosophy that supports tradition and the status quo, or that calls for a return to the values and society of an earlier age, the status quo ante. However, the term has been used by politicians and political commentators with a variety of meanings...
|
centre-right The centre-right , also known as right of center, is a political term commonly used to describe or denote individuals, political parties, or organizations whose views stretch from the centre to the right on the left-right spectrum, excluding far right stances...
|
International Democrat UnionThe International Democrat Union is a center-right international grouping of conservative, Christian-democratic and Liberal-conservative political parties....
|
6.5% |
45 |
Is part of the common CDU/CSU faction in the Bundestag |
In addition to those parties that won representation in the Bundestag in 2009, a variety of minor parties won a cumulative total of approximately 6% of the vote, up from 3% in 2005.