🇩🇪 1. Christian Democratic Union (CDU) & Christian Social Union (CSU) Founding & ideological roots
Here is a systematic, deep-dive overview of the significant current German political parties (as of 2025–2026), structured around the dimensions you care about: founding roots; ideological predecessors; internal factions and schisms; funding base & voter coalitions; continuities vs. breaks; and contested interpretations among analysts/historians. ( German Campus ) 🇩🇪 1. Christian Democratic Union (CDU) & Christian Social Union (CSU) Founding & ideological roots CDU was founded in 1945 after WWII by Christian democrats, conservatives, and liberals to unify anti-socialist forces and rebuild West Germany. ( Wikipedia ) Predecessors include the Catholic Centre Party and conservative factions of the Weimar Republic. Linked to “Christian democracy”: human dignity, social market economy, and integration into Europe. ( Deutschland ) CSU is the regional sister-party in Bavaria , formed in 1945 from the Bavarian People’s Party. ( Wikipedia ) Internal factions &...