The main unifying idea of the CDU was the Christian basis, which turned out to be the only ideology in the country that was not discredited after the defeat of Nazism and the crimes of communism, and looked much more attractive against the background of the shortcomings of liberalism.
The largest partner party in the CDU/CSU bloc – The Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU, German: Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands, CDU) emerged in 1946 after the unification of the conservative forces of the former Weimar Republic.
The party was headed by Konrad Adenauer, a consistent fighter against Nazism and a committed Christian. Many of the founders of the CDU, including Konrad Adenauer, were imprisoned by the Nazis for their participation in the German Resistance. After the Second World War, Christian democracy became the only acceptable political idea in Germany that could unite all citizens around the values of goodness, justice, and humanism on a conflict-free basis. In the pre-war years, this ideology was represented in the country by a number of Protestant and Catholic parties, including the Center Party, which represented the interests of Catholics in the Bundestag.
The CDU immediately declared its orientation toward both Catholics and Protestants, declaring interfaith and supra-confessionalism as its main principle. The very word “union” in the party’s name emphasizes the emphasis on unification rather than confessional or class divisions. The CDU has laid a new beginning in the history of German parties, whose spiritual and political roots lie in the Christian-based resistance to the National Socialist terror regime, in the social ethics of Christian churches, and in the liberal traditions of the European Enlightenment.
The CDU was the dominant party for the first two decades after the founding of Germany in 1949, and it still holds a leading position in the German political arena. In 1957, the CDU gained an absolute majority in the Bundestag, which was the only case in the history of the republic. During the years of the Christian Democrats’ rule, Germany joined NATO and joined European integration structures. It was the CDU/CSU politicians who developed and implemented the economic and social reforms that turned Germany from a war-torn country into a successful and prosperous state. The party has more than half a million members throughout Germany, and CDU members hold the highest positions in the country.
It was during the CDU/CSU’s rule that the “German economic miracle” took place, and the country rapidly became the first in Europe in terms of economic performance. In the 1970s, after more than a decade of losing political primacy to its ideological opponents, the Social Democrats, the CDU returned to power in the 1980s. During the rule of CDU chairman Helmut Kohl, the Berlin Wall came down and Germany was reunified, and the Christian Democrats again won with their coalition partners. Throughout the postwar years, the support of the German Christian Democrats has been at the level of 25-30%, and CDU leaders, even in coalitions with the Social Democrats or the Free Democrats, most often hold the post of chancellor. Today, the CDU has the largest number of seats in the Bundestag, and a significant number of CDU members have been elected to local authorities and federal state parliaments. The total number of CDU members in the Landtags is 563.
The main political values of the CDU are the principles of Christian democracy, which are based on Christian ethics and prioritize individuality, freedom and human rights. Such Christian principles as freedom, social justice and solidarity have become the main motto of the CDU’s social policy. And the Christian understanding of man gives the German Christian Democrats an ethical basis for responsible policy. Christian Democrats believe that the basis of the economy is a social market economy based on fair trade, social responsibility of business and environmental protection.
The CDU program is based on the ethical foundations of Christianity and social justice. In domestic politics, the German Christian Democrats defend the principle of subsidiarity, advocating for limiting the centralized influence of the state at the local level and transferring the main power to local communities. The German CDU is also tolerant of other religions and protects freedom of conscience and religion and respects the rights of other ethnic communities.
In the development of the CDU program, the most influential document was the 1949 Düsseldorf Theses by Ludwig Erhard, in which the party declared its focus on a “social market economy.” By this, the party understands a socially oriented system in which economic freedom and free competition of individuals and businesses should be in harmony with the principles of social justice and civic solidarity. Private ownership is combined with social responsibility, social protection and support of the education system, which should create equal starting opportunities for all members of society. The role of the state is to create favorable conditions for economic development and to adhere to the principle of subsidiarity, i.e. to help only in those matters in which personal responsibility is not enough to achieve the public good and social protection. In the economic sphere, the CDU sees the main task as supporting economic growth and reducing unemployment, reforming taxation and health care systems.
The CDU’s Stuttgart Programmatic Theses of 1984 reflect a new understanding of technology and the environment, in which German Christian Democrats express the idea of limiting the use of new technologies where technology begins to lose its function of serving man. In particular, interference with human DNA, which can harm the Christian image of man, created in the likeness of God.
As a center-right party, the CDU expresses respect for traditions, authority, and the family, and Christian morality has a huge influence on the worldview of CDU members.
Author: Valeriy Maydanyuk