Are Conservative and Christian Democratic Parties Still Different - Case Study Example

Are conservative and Christian democratic parties still different? A Study with the German Model A. Definitions What is ‘Christian democracy?’ Unless we answer that question, discussing the current situation and parties are of no significance. The democratic set up as a political entity was found with earlier civilizations, as in India, Mesopotamia, and later Greece and Rome. Democracy is simply the rule by the people. So what is Christian democracy? Can we say that it is a democracy where the basic structure is formed of Christian principles and the entire polity adheres to the basic principles regardless of the form of Christianity practiced? The definitions vary. We have to rely on experts and one of the latest definitions for Europe was given by a Christian heritage that could confirm to the three basic tenets namely: “1) The fatherhood of God, 2) The brotherhood of man, 3) The essential dignity of man, and 4) The right of the individual to hold and administer private property, subject to his responsibilities to his fellowmen.” Somewhere in the corridors of history, socialism and the Christian faith got mixed, particularly in the Napoleonic era at France, and to prevent the total Atheism of the times, the movement gathered in to a social unit that preserved the power of the Vatican. We may even note that the Nazis even were particular to get Papal sanctions for some of their policies. The undercurrents that made a strong bond with the layman which caused and created a common platform for all Christian denominations went under this name. Paul Gottfried (2007) “Christian Democracy began as Christian Socialism and gradually moved towards center and right. Originally, its intention was to escape the bleak godlessness of both left and right, while avoiding the charge of church domination, particularly domination by the Vatican. The political situation and the party doctrines in Europe were localized and in France the Mouvement Republicain Populaire. Represents this doctorine.” In France many leaders like Georges Bidault, and Pierre-Henri Teitgen were in the party. . East Germany under the Communists suppressed any Christian movement but in “West Germany, Christian Democracy is the party of conservative Chancellor Konrad Adenauer, but is still flavored by the Christian Socialism of the Catholic Labor movement. Mitbestimmungsrecht, for example, the radical program under which many German workers share in the management of industry was energetically pushed by Catholic labor.” (Times News (1953)) so we may say that Christian Democracy is a concept that totally takes in all sorts of political and social organizations that belong to any Christian faith and intend on a democratic method of governance. Western Europe's Christian Democrats hail from small Christian parties that have twenty million voters between them. There are thus more than two parties in any European country that subscribes to the Christian view. Even in modern Russia, it is catching on. In this essay we concern ourselves to the Unified Germany. History The history of the movement is varied in regions. In Germany which we take as the sample, in the article Evolution of Europe (1990) East Germany was a special case. “The case of East Germany is considered special. While Christian Democrats collaborated with the former Communist regime, the Protestant church helped to organize the demonstrations that brought the change in government last fall. A new group of Christian Democrats then benefited from enormous West German assistance to win last month's elections. But, according to experts at the Christian Democratic International, elsewhere the situation is more confused. ''Political groups are appearing that claim to be Christian Democratic without any proof that they share our vision of democracy,'' said Bryan Palmer, the International's assistant secretary general.” The history of the parties through time was traced by Noel D. Cary (1966) “From 1917 to 1922, the unrealized visions of party reformers formed the basis of much discussion within the Center party. With both the party and the nation in flux, this discussion appeared unavoidable, for the survival and unity of organized political Catholicism seemed to hang in the balance. But late in 1922 came a new national catastrophe: postwar inflation, already a serious problem, accelerated into the worst hyperinflation of modern times. When the French, their patience over war reparations exhausted, occupied the industrial Ruhr in January 1923 and sought to take reparations in kind, the Germans responded with factory slowdowns that cut production and further exacerbated the hyperinflationary spiral. By November 1923, four trillion marks were worth one dollar. In such a crisis, with even more of Catholic Germany's heartland now under foreign occupation, a discussion about party reform no longer seemed appropriate.” Germany - Analysis Though the nation has been unified, there are two currents in the polity today. One is the communist and another the democrat, a union of all Christian parties. According to Clay Risen (2005) who analyzed the election results for the Chancellor, and the victory of Merkel says “Christian feeling overrides other political considerations. The parties still depend on Christian support, although they have been making noises to include all other denominations. Today the CDU or Christian democratic union which spewed the host of parties is a rudderless ship” He further adds that The Christian democrats are market oriented, and Merkel “rose to power by aggressively knocking off established party members, and after a series of political blunders (most notably her vigorous opposition to Turkish membership in the European Union, which drew loud protest from minority voters), Merkel has come under attack from opponents bent on payback.” All is not well at the German Front The September bombing incident and the rise of fundamentalism all over Europe and the USA have now given a different meaning to the term Christian. The old feelings about god and fellow man is being replaced by an ‘Us Vs them” attitude. It was reported in the press that most Christian parties rely on racist and religious propaganda. For example Ulrich Rippert (1999) reports that “The campaign initiated by the Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) against the introduction of a new law permitting dual citizenship has unleashed a considerable political conflict. While extreme right-wing parties such as the DVU, the NPD and the Republicans have declared their enthusiastic support, calling upon their members to support the action, the campaign itself has met with growing rejection and opposition from the population. Opposition is also growing inside the CDU. Within the leading committee of the CDU, in part because the party has only recently elected a new party chairman, Wolfgang Schäuble, only three members of the executive voted against the campaign. But inside the party as a whole opposition has become more audible.” He goes on to cite various articles that were of a racist nature. “A Rundschau article from February 3 throws light on the opposition inside the CDU to the racist campaign. The former CDU minister Christian Schwarz-Schilling and the executive member of the Jewish community Michel Friedmann (CDU) are quoted as decrying "the intensification of emotions with regard to the issue of immigration". The case was against immigrant workers which also hinted at their religious denominations. “With the loosening of the grip of religious community, Schäuble propagates nationalism in its stead. In a country where in the name of "Volksgemeinschaft"--a favorite term of the Nazis--the greatest crimes in the history of humanity were committed, such words have a special significance, and are evidence of unparalleled political irresponsibility. Following objections and protests over his nationalist slogans, Schäuble retorted that his book merely served to undermine the position of right-wing radical parties in the elections.”Such attitude change, along with the changes in living conditions, emigrants and other issues, have eroded faith in the system propounded by the Democrats. Many condemned the racist policy. The socialists for example like “The Partei für Soziale Gleichheit spokesperson said: “I utterly condemn the attempt by Hesse Prime Minster Roland Koch to transform the recent brutal attack on a pensioner in Munich by two youth into a xenophobic campaign.” Arens was referring to the recent comments by Koch, who called for the “consistent deportation of criminal foreigners” following the media release of a video showing two Turkish youth assaulting the pensioner during the Christmas holidays in Munich.” The immigrant problem is causing the people and the parties to trake a very harsh stand on the Christian values. However we may say that the socialites and Christians of today are in the “we” mentality as much as the minorities are in the ghetto mentality. This effect is clearly shown by Jan-Werner Mueller (2000) “From 1949 until 1963, Adenauer and his CDU dominated German politics. At the time of the 1961 election, Adenauer was eighty-five years old, and the opposition SPD was gaining in popularity. Ludwig Erhard, a CDU member credited with engineering Germany's postwar economic miracle, succeeded Adenauer as chancellor in 1963. An economic recession then hastened the end of the CDU/CSU's hold on power. November 1966 brought the creation of the Grand Coalition between the CDU/CSU and the SPD with Kurt Georg Kiesinger (CDU) as chancellor and Willy Brandt (SPD) as vice chancellor. The FDP was relegated to the opposition benches. After the 1969 election, the SPD formed a coalition with the FDP, leaving the CDU/CSU in opposition for the first time in West German history…. For thirteen years, the CDU/CSU waited to regain power. By the early 1980s, the CDU had adopted a new party program consisting of conservative economic policies, resembling those of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan, and moderate social and foreign policies. Helmut Kohl, as leader of the CDU/CSU Fraktion in the Bundestag, was also rebuilding a political bridge to the FDP. In 1982, as West Germany's economy weakened, the liberal SPD and the economically conservative FDP could not settle on a package of economic remedies. The FDP chose to leave the coalition and form a new government with the CDU/CSU. The constructive vote of no-confidence was used successfully for the first time to unseat Helmut Schmidt as chancellor; Kohl replaced him. West Germans ratified this change through early elections called for March 1983. When Helmut Kohl's Christian Democratic Union was crushed in the federal election of 1998, Germany's longest-serving chancellor left behind a party that was not only ideologically exhausted, but also in organizational shambles, because the entire party had been organized around Kohl. Though the CDU swiftly rose in the polls again due to the initial blunders of the inexperienced and internally divided Red-Green government, it soon plunged into the most profound crisis of its history when the party's illegal financing methods were uncovered in late 1999.” Conclusion It is fair to say that Christian Democracy as an ideal still flourishes in Europe, but there is a cause for dismay. The ani- other policy will soon make it sectarian, and in that case, will Germany head for a Nazi type government again? Hitler used the same Christian spirit for his ascend. Will the neo Christians use it against the immigrants, Muslims and other minorities in Germany is to be seen. Then the result is not going to be something we would look forward to. References: Paul Gottfried The Rise and Fall of Christian Democracy in Europe Available online 28 August 2007. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6W5V-4PHSFS3-&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=b22f6c874c6dba5316686ca497011503 Time News (1953) EUROPE'S CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATS Times News Online, Monday, May. 25, 1953 http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,890558-1,00.html. Evolution in Europe; For West's Christian Democrats, the East Offers a Chance and a Challenge Published: May 14, 1990 http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE0DA1F3AF937A25756C0A966958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all Clay Risen 2005 Deutschland's Iron Lady Is Angela Merkel the next Maggie Thatcher? Posted Tuesday, July 5, 2005, at 1:21 PM ET http://www.slate.com/id/2122001/ Ulrich Rippert 12 February 1999 Germany: Christian Democrats mount racist campaign http://www.wsws.org/articles/1999/feb1999/cdu-f12.shtml Noel D. Cary The Path to Christian Democracy: German Catholics and the Party System from Windthorst to Adenauer. Contributors: Noel D. Cary - author. Publisher: Harvard University Press. Place of Publication: Cambridge, MA. Publication Year: 1996. Page Number: 101. Jan-Werner Mueller (2000) Another Country: German Intellectuals, Unification and National Identity (Yale University Press, 2000). Read More