Polish professor, historian, and political scientist Pawel Skibinski gave a resonant interview titled “Ideological Revival of Christian Democrats Is Impossible,” in which he condemned the partial loss of Christianity by the Christian Democratic parties in Europe.
The author harshly states that Christian democracy in the West has adopted the values of the left and we are witnessing the abdication of its own identity as a political movement of believers. By the way, Skibinsky is not the only one who sharply speaks out about the decreasing share of Christianity in the political platforms of European Christian democratic parties, and some even begin to notice the need to replace the word “Christian” in the name of this ideology.
The Polish professor notes that as a result of powerful political trends and the Marxist left in European politics, Christian democracy did not escape this influence. Another reason was the cooperation of Christian democrats with left-wing parties, which took place, in particular, in France, where the so-called Catholic Left operated and the ideas of Mounier’s Catholic socialism emerged.
Other examples are the large SPD-CSU coalition in Germany, led by Chancellor Kurt Georg Kiesinger, and the unrealized idea of a historic compromise and coalition of the Italian Christian Democrats with the Communist Party. Skibinsky notes the powerful penetration of Marxism in the Catholic Church in the field of philosophy and theology, and the only support for anti-communist and Christian thinking for decades was the CSU, the Bavarian Union Party of the CDU.
Answering the question “how did this happen and why did Christian democracy become less Christian?” the Polish professor notes that this is mainly due to the fact that after the Second Vatican Council, Christian democrats began to take into account the leftist tendencies existing in society and in the Vatican itself. “Western societies after 1968 were formed in a leftist style, so Christian democracy moved to the left. Christian democrats became too weak and too tied to situational political gain. They did not want to look at political reality in the long run. Therefore, they continued to give in to the leftist agenda and have been openly implementing it for many years,” the professor notes. He cites the abortion controversy and the consent of Catholic politicians to the existence of a system that legalizes abortion as an example.
“When Christian democracy decided to regain the dominant position on the left wing agenda, it turned out that it was not stable enough to do so,” the professor states.
Indeed, many Christian parties have to compromise on the issue of adapting Christian values to the values popular in the West, which were directly criticized in the Bible. At the same time, CD parties have to compete in elections for the votes of Western voters accustomed to liberal slogans, especially young people. It is difficult to be a moral guide when moral adaptation is in vogue.
According to Professor Skibinsky, “the ideological revival of the current Christian democratic parties is rather impossible. This is due to too deep a financial dependence, political and ideological habits, and a certain political sclerosis characteristic of the whole of Europe. But we should draw conclusions from the historical decline of Christian democrats. We should look to Christianity for inspiration for another political revival. For each generation must find its own way of realizing social Catholicism.”
Researchers of Christian democracy Edward Lynch and Scott Mainwaring note that the main reasons for the electoral defeats of Christian democrats are the growing conformism and pragmatism in their political practice. In particular, as Edward Lynch noted, “Christian Democrats have not succeeded in utilizing their potential because they have retreated from their own ideological principles. And Scott Mainwaring notes: “Democratic Christian parties have become less idealistic and consistent in their programmatic attitudes in order to become more pragmatic in order to broaden their supporters.” However, this inevitably led to the loss of the nuclear electorate, for whom Christian values and morality were not an empty sound. In the twenty-first century, the political practice of Christian democratic parties is characterized by much more conformism and political pragmatism and much less religious values.
As the experience of European and Latin American Christian democracies shows, Christian democratic parties succeed when they consistently follow their own principles and programmatic foundations based on Christian values and the ethics of the Gospel. When Christian democrats waged an uncompromising fight against corruption, the mafia, monopoly, and successfully solved socio-economic problems, their rating was high.
The Christian Social Union, which has been in power in Bavaria for more than half a century, is an example of the most successful and longest-lasting Christian democratic project. The CSU effectively ensures the economic and social development of citizens and makes a significant contribution to the revival of the European Christian democratic movement. Today, it is one of the most successful examples in the world of implementing the theory of the international Christian democratic movement, because for more than 50 years, the residents of democratic Bavaria have never doubted the effectiveness of the Christian Social Union representatives, supporting them in every election.
Author: Valeriy Maydanyuk
