Social Democratic Party of Germany

This article is part of the series
Politics of Germany

2002 | 1998 | 1994 | 1990 | 1987 | 1983 | 1980 | 1976 | 1972 | 1969 | 1965 | 1961 | 1957 | 1953 | 1949
Political Parties:
SPD | CDU/CSU
Greens | FDP | PDS

The Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD – Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands) is the second oldest political party of Germany still in existence and also one of the oldest and largest in the world, celebrating its 140th anniversary in 2003. Rooted in the workers' movement, it used to be left-of-center and to subscribe to social democracy; more recently, under Gerhard Schröder's lead, it has clearly drifted towards positions of Tony Blair's "Third way", incorporating a definite streak of neoliberalism.

The SPD is a member party of the Socialist International.

Members of the party who are younger than 35 are organized in the Jusos.

1 History
2 Current issues
3 Leading members of the SPD before World War I
4 Interwar leaders of the SPD
5 Chairmen of the Social Democratic Party
6 German Chancellors from SPD
7 German Presidents from SPD
8 Related articles
9 External link

History

The party considers itself to be founded on May 23, 1863, by Ferdinand Lassalle under the name Allgemeiner Deutscher Arbeiterverein (ADAV, General German Workers' Association). In 1869, August Bebel and Wilhelm Liebknecht founded the Sozialdemokratische Arbeiterpartei (SDAP, Social Democratic Workers' Party of Germany), which merged with the ADAV in 1875. Otto von Bismarck had the party outlawed for its pro-revolution, anti-monarchy sentiments; but in 1892 it was legalized again.

SPD election poster, 1932. Translation: "Against Papen, Hitler, Thälmann; List 2, Social Democrats"

After World War I, the Social Democratic Party and the newly founded Communist Party of Germany (which consisted mostly of SPD defectors) became bitter rivals, not least because of the legacy of the German Revolution (see Weimar Republic). The leader of the Prussian government in Berlin, socialist Otto Braun was ousted by military coup on July 20, 1932 and the party was banned by the Nazis in 1933. It takes a certain pride in being the only party that voted against the 1933 Enabling Act.

The SPD was recreated after World War II. In West Germany, it was initially in the opposition, but led the federal government under Chancellors Willy Brandt and Helmut Schmidt from 1969 until 1982. In its 1959 Godesberg Program the SPD abandoned the concept of a class party and Marxist principles while continuing to stress social welfare programs. Although the SPD originally opposed West Germany's 1955 entry into NATO, it now strongly supports German ties with the alliance.

In the Russian sector which later became East Germany, the Social Democratic Party and the Communist Party of Germany were forced to merge to form the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED). During the fall of Communist rule in 1989, the SPD was re-established as a separate party in East Germany and then merged with its West German counterpart upon reunification.

This article is part of the series
Politics of Germany

Basic Law

Bundestag
Bundesrat
Federal Convention
Constitutional Court

President
Chancellor
Cabinet

States of Germany
Districts of Germany

Elections

2002 | 1998 | 1994 | 1990 | 1987 | 1983 | 1980 | 1976 | 1972 | 1969 | 1965 | 1961 | 1957 | 1953 | 1949
Political Parties:
SPD | CDU/CSU
Greens | FDP | PDS

Current issues

Led by Gerhard Schröder on a moderate platform emphasizing the need to reduce unemployment, the SPD emerged as the strongest party in the September 1998 elections with 40.9% of the votes cast. Crucial for this success was the SPD's strong base in big cities and Bundesländer with traditional industries. Forming a coalition government with the Green Party, the SPD thus returned to power for the first time since 1982.

Oskar Lafontaine, elected SPD chairman November 1995, and having joined the government as minister for economy and finance, resigned from his party and government positions in March 1999. Schröder succeeded Lafontaine as party chairman.

In the September 2002 elections, the SPD reached 38.5% of the national vote, barely ahead of the CDU/CSU, and was again able to form a government with the help of the Green Party. The European elections of 2004 were a disaster for the SPD, marking its worst result in a nationwide election after World War II with only 21.5% of the vote. Earlier the same year, leadership of the SPD had changed from chancellor Gerhard Schröder to Franz Müntefering in what was widely regarded as an attempt to deal with internal party opposition to the economic reform programs set in march by the federal government.

For many years, membership in the SPD has been declining. Down from a high of over 1 million in 1976, there were about 775,000 members at the time of the 1998 election victory, by August 2003 the figure had dropped to 663,000, and at the end of March 2005 there were less than 600,000 SPD members remaining.

In April 2005, party chairman Franz Müntefering publicly criticized excessive profiteering in Germany's free market economy and proposed stronger involvement of the federal state in order to promote economic justice. This triggered a debate that dominated the national news for several weeks, being the subject of front-page articles in almost all major periodicals as well as obtaining coverage on the main television news broadcasts on a near-daily basis. Müntefering's suggestions have been criticized by employer organizations and some economists, but have been met with popular support (75% approval in some opinion polls).

In January 2005, some SPD members left the party to found the Labor and Social Justice Party (WASG) in opposition to what they consider to be neoliberal leanings displayed by the SPD. By May 2005, several newspapers reported that former SPD chairman Oskar Lafontaine was planning to join the new party.