Membership development of the German parties

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The membership development of the German parties is characterized by long-term trends. Since the peak in the mid-1970s, membership numbers have declined until 2016 , apart from the special case of party developments in the new federal states after the fall of the Wall and the peaceful revolution in the GDR . The total number has remained largely constant since then, but the individual parties have developed significantly differently. From 1990 until 2015, the membership figures of all parties represented in the Bundestag in Germany have decreased significantly. The causes were disenchantment with politics , individualization and an aging membership. In 2017, for the first time since 1990, more people joined parties than they lost to members through deaths and resignations.

Membership development of the SPD from 1946 to 2011 (according to information in the specialist literature, party information at the end of each year and estimates before 1966)
Membership development of the CDU from 1946 to 2011

Historical developments

Weimar Republic

SPD

In 1929 the SPD had just over a million members.

KPD

The KPD had around 100,000 members between 1920 and 1930. By 1932 the number rose to over 200,000.

DVP

The German People's Party (DVP) had around 800,000 members in 1920.

NSDAP

In 1938 the following information was given on the development of the membership of the NSDAP between 1919 and 1933:

date Members
Late 1919 64
Late 1920 3,000
Late 1921 6,000
November 23, 1923 55,787
Late 1925 27,117
Late 1926 49,523
Late 1927 72,590
Late 1928 108,717
Late 1929 176.426
Late 1930 389,000
Late 1931 806.294
April 1932 1,000,000
Late 1932 1,200,000
Late 1933 3,900,000
Party book of the NSDAP from 1939

Deviating from this, other sources report that the NSDAP had 849,009 members at the time of the “seizure of power” (party statistics); in the following years this number had grown to 5.3 million (1939) and finally to 7.7 million in May 1943. At first (and again and again) attempts were made to keep the “ March fallen ” (opportunists who confessed to the NSDAP after the seizure of power, especially after the election victory in March 1933) from the party. To this end, a comprehensive ban on membership was imposed in 1933 (see main article ban on membership of the NSDAP ). The need for new members, however, was always so great that such measures could not be sustained for long, especially since with them a “transmission belt” was built into society.

Western zones of occupation and the Federal Republic of Germany until 1990

After the Second World War

After the parties were re-admitted at the end of 1945, the number of party members in the western occupation zones initially grew rapidly. The desire and the possibility of influencing the key decisions taken in the immediate post-war period was just as important as career considerations. In the course of denazification , a large part of the elite was removed from government functions. The advocacy of the new democratic order was decisive for the executives newly appointed by the victorious powers.

In 1947 the membership of the parties peaked.

Early years of the Federal Republic

Democracy in the Federal Republic was designed as party democracy . While support for democracy was high, the parties' prestige quickly fell after the euphoria of the immediate post-war period. Throughout the 1950s there was a “no-me mood” with regard to party politics.

The membership of the parties fell again and reached a low point in the mid-1950s. This applied to all parliamentary parties. In the Bundestag elections in 1957 , the three-party system had emerged, which was to last for the next few decades (although there were formally 5 parties in the Bundestag; but the DP and CSU were closely linked to the CDU). The parties that left parliaments as part of the consolidation of the party system suffered even greater membership losses.

Increase in the 1960s and 1970s

The following years were marked by a continuous increase in membership. This was particularly pronounced among the CDU and SPD, which made the polarization of the party system clear. The rise of the 1968 movement and the Social Liberal Coalition in 1969 led to a veritable explosion in membership. While this reached its climax in the SPD as early as 1973, the CDU / CSU expanded the membership base throughout the opposition period. The number of members reached their peak here with the turn of 1982/83.

Disenchantment with parties in the 1980s

The 1980s ended the three-party system. The Greens re-entered the party system on the left, while the Republicans emerged on the right. The Greens, in particular, ran as an "anti-party party" and promoted party criticism. After the decline in membership had also reached the Union, there was talk of the "crisis of the people's parties". In addition to the widely used thesis of disaffection with parties , this development can also be understood as the normalization of the party landscape after the exaggeration of the 1970s.

SBZ and GDR

The situation in the Soviet Zone initially corresponded to that in the western occupation zones. After the compulsory unification in 1946, the SED had around 1.3 million members, the LDPD (around 200,000 members in 1947) and the Eastern CDU had in many cases been hindered by the SMAD in establishing a party organization. The alignment of the parties to the bloc party also led to an exchange of members and a decrease in the number of members. Of about 200,000 members of the Eastern CDU in 1947, a quarter had left in 1950 through flight, resignation and exclusion.

In the GDR, the number of party members rose sharply. Most recently, the SED had around 2.3 million and the block parties together around 600,000 members. Since there were no free elections, the reason for joining the party was usually not the desire to defend one's political positions, but rather the fact that professional careers without party membership were difficult or impossible.

Consequences of the turn

With the fall of 1989 and reunification , there were massive shifts in the membership of the parties. Those who had only become party members of the SED out of opportunity or political compulsion resigned. In 1990, the party (now renamed PDS ) had around 285,000, mostly older members. The number of members decreased continuously in the following years and in 2006 was still around 60,000.

The block parties and the newly formed civil rights organizations and parties joined the western parties. As a result, the CDU and, in particular, the FDP managed to jump in membership numbers. However, similar to (albeit to a lesser extent) the SED, many members of the bloc parties resigned.

Reunified Germany

The tendencies of the 1980s continued in the years after reunification. The two people's parties lost members. The SPD was hit much harder than the CDU, which is why the CDU replaced the SPD in 2008 as the party with the largest number of members. The number of members of the Greens developed positively. Overall, however, the number of party members declined until 2016.

In 1990 the parties represented in the Bundestag had around 2.3 million members. The total number of members of the SPD , CDU , CSU , FDP , Greens and the Left fell to just under 1.2 million by the end of 2016.

The recruitment capability of the entire party system, defined as the quotient of the number of members of all parties and the total number of persons eligible to join, fell from 3.65 percent (1990) to 1.71 percent in 2015.

2017

With the increase in voter turnout in the 2017 federal election , the trend in the decreasing number of members also reversed. At the end of 2017, the SPD was again the largest party in Germany with around 443,000 members. Although the number of members of the CDU had fallen to below 430,000, the other parties represented in the Bundestag ( SPD , AfD , FDP , Left , Greens ) were able to record a sometimes significant increase.

2018

In 2018, the total number of members of the Bundestag parties remained largely constant. However, the Union and the SPD lost significant members, while the Greens and AfD each recorded an increase of around 15%. The SPD has a special feature, which gained around 20,000 members up to the strike vote on the new grand coalition, but then lost around 26,000.

2019

In 2019, the number of members of the Bundestag parties remained largely constant. However, the Union and the SPD lost significantly members, while the Greens recorded a significant increase of over 21,000 members.

2020

In 2020 the positive trend for the Greens continued, by April the number of members rose to over 100,000.

Party structuring

Membership development from 1990

The following list shows the membership numbers of political parties in Germany that are also represented in the Bundestag from 1990 onwards (compare also the proportions of women in German parties ):

year SPD CDU CSU Green left FDP AfD total
1990 943.402 789,609 186.198 41,316 280,882 168.217 2,409,624
1995 817,650 657.643 179,647 46,410 114,940 80,431 1,896,721
2000 734,667 616.722 181.021 46,631 83,475 62,721 1,725,237
2005 590.485 571,881 170.117 45.105 61,270 65.002 1,503,860
2010 502.062 505.314 153,890 52,991 73,658 68,541 1,356,456
2011 489,638 489,896 150,585 59,074 69,458 63.123 1,321,774
2012 477.037 476,347 147.965 59,653 63,761 58,675 1,283,438
2013 473,662 467.976 148,380 61,359 63,756 57.263 17,687 1,290,083
2014 459.902 457.488 146,536 60,329 60,551 54,967 20,728 1,260,501
2015 442.814 444,400 144,360 59,418 58,989 53,197 16,385 1,219,563
2016 432.706 431.920 142,412 61,596 58,910 53,896 26,409 1,207,849
2017 443,000 427.173 141,000 65,257 62.182 63,050 29,000 1,230,662
2018 February: 463,723
December: 437,754 		414.905 December: 138.354 75,311 62,016 63,912 33,516 1,226,000
2019 419,300 407.350 140,880 96,487 61,055 65,500 35,100 1,227,000
2020 June: 412,000 May: 402,000 April: 101,561 June: 61,077 June: 34,000
Development of membership numbers of the parties

Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD)

The number of members of the SPD has decreased significantly since 1990 and reached a low of around 433,000 at the end of 2016. An above-average resignation of around 10,000 members in January 2004 was interpreted as a reaction to the introduction of the practice fee and the higher health insurance contributions to company pensions. After Martin Schulz's candidacy for chancellor became known on January 24, 2017, which triggered a significant increase in all parties except the Union , up to the strike vote on government participation in February 2018, the trend of the last decades was reversed for the first time and around 60,000 people appeared joined the SPD, whose membership increased to over 463,000 at that time. By the end of June the number fell by around 14,000 to just under 450,000, and by the end of 2018 to just under 438,000, so that after two years the party had almost reached the old level again.

Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU)

Between 1990 and 2018, the CDU recorded an uninterrupted decline in membership of between 1% and 5% per year. Between 2008 and 2011, it was nevertheless the largest party in Germany, as the decline in membership of the SPD was even greater during this period.

Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU)

From 1990 to 2000, the CSU had an almost constant membership of around 180,000. Thereafter, the number of members decreased to 138,000 by the end of 2018. With a recruitment rate of 1.27% (2018), it is nevertheless the party with the largest number of members in Germany.

Alliance 90 / The Greens

The Greens had a high of 51,812 members in 1998. Thereafter the number fell to around 44,000 by 2002. In October 2010, after the events of the demonstrations against Stuttgart 21 , it again exceeded the 51,000 mark. The Greens have had more members than the FDP since 2012, and more than the Left since 2015. From 2018 to 2020 the number of members rose sharply and increased from approx. 65,000 over 75,000 to over 100,000 at the end of April 2020.

Free Democratic Party (FDP)

After reunification in 1990, the FDP had more than 178,000 party members, but their number fell significantly afterwards: in 1992 there were around 103,000 members, in 2000 only just under 63,000. There followed a slight increase in the number of members, at the end of 2009 it was 72,000. By 2015 the number had dropped to 53,000. In 2017, a relatively large number of people joined the FDP, the party had a membership of 63,000 by the end of the year. Since 2017, the FDP has had more members than Die Linke.

The left

The PDS shrank sharply in the years after reunification, its membership decreased from 281,000 in 1990 to 61,000 in 2004. The Left came into being in 2007 through the union with the WASG , which had around 10,000 members. At the end of 2009, the Left reached a peak with 78,000 members, after which the number fell to 59,000 by 2016.

Alternative for Germany (AfD)

On May 3, 2013, the AfD had 10,476 registered members, including 2,795 former members from other parties. By February 28, 2014, the AfD was able to gain 17,552 members and 1,753 "sponsors" (people who regularly support the party financially but are not eligible to vote) according to its federal association. After the party moved into the Bundestag , it had around 29,000 members at the end of 2017 and increased this to more than 33,000 members at the end of 2018.

Party for Labor, Rule of Law, Animal Welfare, Promotion of Elites and grassroots initiative (Die PARTTEI)

The PARTY was founded in August 2004 and, according to its own information, had 31,252 members in December 2018 and around 43,000 in December 2019.

Pirate Party Germany

The Pirate Party , founded in September 2006, reached a high of around 33,000 members in 2012. After that, the numbers continue to decline, in December 2019 there were still 7,883 members (4,300 of whom are entitled to vote).

consequences

The loss of members also results in a loss of income (see also: party funding ) . Barbara Hendricks , SPD, demanded compensation through higher state subsidies in 2007. One of the opponents was Volker Beck .

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Verena school: disaffection with parties. Federal Agency for Civic Education (bpb), August 28, 2009, p. ??.
  2. ^ Message (AFP): New party members: FDP and AfD are growing particularly strongly. In: T-Online . December 30, 2017, accessed December 8, 2019.
  3. ^ Ulrich von Alemann : The party system of the Federal Republic of Germany. Federal Agency for Civic Education , Bonn 2010, p. 171.
  4. ↑ http://www.zeitklicks.de/weimarer- Republik/zeitklicks/zeit/politik/die-parts/spd-sozialdemokratische-partei-deutschlands /
  5. ↑ [1]
  6. ↑ [2]
  7. ^ Bibliographisches Institut Leipzig: Look it up! Facts worth knowing from all areas. 1st edition, Leipzig 1938.
  8. ↑ Michael Grüttner , The Third Reich. 1933–1939 (= Gebhardt. Handbook of German History , Volume 19), Stuttgart 2014, p. 101.
  9. ↑ Sebastian Höhn: Party Democracy in Crisis? Political alienation and disenchantment with parties in the Federal Republic . 2007, ISBN 978-3-638-61974-5 , p. 10, books.google.de
  10. ↑ Tim Spier, Markus Klein, Ulrich von Alemann , Hanna Hoffmann, Annika Laux, Alexandra Nonnenmacher, Katharina Rohrbach: Party members in Germany . 2011, ISBN 978-3-531-14042-1 , pp. 19-20, books.google.de
  11. ^ Ehrhart Neubert : A political duel in Germany . Freiburg 2002, ISBN 3-451-28016-7 , pp. 36–37
  12. ↑ a b c d e Oskar Niedermayer : Party members in Germany: Version 2017 NEW. In: Workbooks from the Otto Stammer Center. No. 27, Freie Universität Berlin 2017, p. 2, table 1: Development of party membership from 1990 to 2016 ( PDF: 517 kB, 82 pages on fu-berlin.de ( memento from March 1, 2019 in the Internet Archive )).
  13. ↑ a b c d e f g Membership numbers: All parties win - just not the Union . In: Spiegel Online . December 29, 2017 ( spiegel.de [accessed February 5, 2018]).
  14. ↑ a b c Greens for the first time have more than 100,000 members in Der Spiegel , April 27, 2020, accessed May 10, 2020
  15. ↑ Ursula Nonnemacher on Twitter: "We not only have new chairmen, green is also growing. At the end of the year 65257, more than ever before # BDK18". January 27, 2018 .;
  16. ↑ https://www.liberale.de/content/neues-jahr-beginnt-mit-freude-ueber-stark-gestiegene-trägerzahl
  17. ↑ cop / dpa: Before GroKo vote: 24,339 new members of the SPD. In: Spiegel Online . February 6, 2018, accessed February 6, 2018 .
  18. ↑ a b c d e f g It was just a summer dream , SZ July 29, 2019
  19. ↑ Plus for Greens and AfD, Minus for CSU and SPD, Süddeutsche Zeitung December 21, 2018 page R15
  20. ^ A b c d e dpa: Parties: CDU and SPD lose members . In: The time . January 16, 2020, ISSN  0044-2070 ( zeit.de [accessed on January 16, 2020]).
  21. ↑ Die Grünen boomem FAZ, February 28, 2020
  22. ↑ Government parties lose members , Aachener Zeitung July 19, 2020
  23. ↑ https://www.presseportal.de/pm/58964/4020114
  24. ↑ Greens on the rise: More than 51,000 party members. In: Handelsblatt . October 29, 2010, accessed April 15, 2014 .
  25. ↑ The PARTY : Random fact: At the end of the year we have 31,252 members (m / f / d). In: Twitter . December 28, 2018, accessed December 8, 2019.
  26. ↑ The PARTY: On the day of the # honorary office (as well as on any other day) we would like our around 43,000 members ... In: Twitter . December 5, 2019, accessed December 8, 2019.
  27. ^ Pirate Party : Members. In: Wiki.Piratenpartei.de. November 19, 2019, accessed December 8, 2019.
  28. ^ Pirate Party: Pirate Household - Membership Statistics. In: Finances.Piratenpartei.de. December 8, 2019, accessed December 8, 2019.
  29. ↑ New SPD treasurer: Compensate for party membership losses through higher state subsidies. In: Rheinische Post . August 12, 2007, accessed April 15, 2014 .
  30. ↑ Party funding - Union and SPD want more money from the state