Center Party (Germany)
The Centre Party (German: Deutsche Zentrumspartei or DZP, or simply Zentrum) is a Catholic political party in Germany. It was one of the main German parties during the German Empire and the Weimar Republic, although today it is a minority formation in the German political arena.
From January to August 2022, he was represented in the Bundestag by Uwe Witt, a former member of the Alternative for Germany (AfD). He also counts Jörg Meuthen, a former AfD leader, as a member of the European Parliament.
History
First game
Second row, left to right: Friedrich von Praschma, Philipp Schmieder, Felix Porsch, Clemens Heereman von Zuydwyck, Julius Szmula)
Created on December 13, 1870, it was founded to protect the rights of the Catholic minority in the new unified Germany of the early 1870s. The party gained strength during that time (1870-1880) in its reaction against the "culture struggle" (Kulturkampf) of Bismarck against the Catholic Church. The party was notable for the mix of classes it represented, ranging from Catholic workers to aristocrats. Unlike what happened in other countries, especially Spanish-speaking ones, in Germany Catholicism did not represent a merely conservative ideology, but within the Catholic camp there were many liberal currents (at least in matters not exactly religious) and even left-leaning. Above all the so-called "Rhenish Catholicism" He was characterized by his moderate liberalism and open-mindedness, which distinguished him from traditionalist and Prussian conservatism (which was traditionally Protestant and anti-Catholic).
The Polish minority that inhabited some areas of Prussia was in turn one of the largest Catholic groups within the German Empire. But, despite the Zentrum's Catholic convictions, it was furiously opposed to Polish minorities.
After the end of the Kulturkampf, the Center Party made peace with the government and was often part of the coalitions that gave the majority in the Reichstag to various governments. Although the party supported the government for the start of World War I, many of the leaders of its left branch, in particular Matthias Erzberger, were in favor of a negotiated agreement, he being a key person in the transition to the "Peace Resolution" of the Reichstag in 1917.
The Center Party, whose pragmatic principles generally left open support for both a monarchical and a republican form of government, proved to be one of the pillars of the Weimar Republic by participating in every government between 1919 and 1932, despite the defection of its Bavarian branch in 1919, to form the Bavarian People's Party. His constituency also proved less susceptible to "charm" of Nazism against most bourgeois parties, due in large part to its strong ties to the Church.
The Center Party entered the opposition for the first time, after the dismissal of its leader Heinrich Brüning as chancellor, in 1932. Subsequently, its deputies voted in favor at Hitler's investiture ceremony, in March 1933, following the voting discipline marked by the party president, the priest Ludwig Kaas. According to historians such as John S. Conway, Pius XI and his Secretary of State Pacelli pressured the Zentrum to vote for full powers for fear of "a rupture of the anti-communist front";[citation needed] other authors have blamed Monsignor Kaas, who would have capitulated to Hitler in exchange for the maintenance of Catholic confessional schools. However, the political formation was dissolved shortly after by the Nazis along with the rest of the German parties.
From the refoundation to the present day
The Center Party was re-founded after World War II, but soon most of its members mixed with other denominational parties to form the Christian Democratic Union (CDU for short in German). The Zentrum of early West Germany was dominated by the former left-wing sections of the party during the Weimar Republic. The DZP spoke out strongly against the economic reforms of Federal Minister Ludwig Erhard, and stressed the "need for a planned policy, directed by the state economy". The DZP was represented in the Bundestag until 1957. In the 1949 federal elections it won 10 seats and in the 1953 federal elections, it obtained only 3 seats. During the second term of the Bundestag (1953-1957) the leaders and parliamentarians of the DZP positioned themselves against "any type of remilitarisation". federal, not exceeding 1% of the votes since then. He also had parliamentary representation in the Landtags of North Rhine-Westphalia until 1958 and Lower Saxony, until 1959. In North Rhine-Westphalia he even presided over the government of this federal state, with Minister-President Rudolf Amelunxen, between 1946 and 1947, and subsequently was part of the state government as a coalition partner, until his loss of representation in the Landtag. In Lower Saxony he was part of the government between 1947 and 1955.
It is currently a fringe political party, mostly present in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Saxony Anhalt. The party's chairman is Christian Otte, a member of the Kaarst city council in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The party is affiliated with the European Christian Political Movement.
In May 2018, the Center Party gained international notoriety by offering the former President of the Generalitat of Catalonia Carles Puigdemont (recently arrested in Germany after the events of October 2017) to be the head of the list for the European elections in 2019. According to legal experts, this could materialize because the electoral law establishes that a citizen of the European Union can present a candidacy in another Member State when he has his residence there. However, JxCat indicated that Puigdemont had not established contact with the party, and that in case of being the object of that offer he would reject it as he had Catalan politics as a priority. Puigdemont finally rejected the proposal.
In January 2022, former AfD member Uwe Witt joined the party while still holding his seat in the Bundestag. This marks the first time since 1957 that the party has held a seat in the Bundestag.
In June 2022, MEP and former AfD leader Jörg Meuthen announced his joining the party. This led to Uwe Witt resigning from the party in August of the same year.
Election results
Federal elections (German Empire)
| Year | # Of votes | % of votes | # Of obtained | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1871 | 724,000 | 18.6 | 63/382 | |
| 1874 | 1.446,000 | 27.9 | 91/397 |  28
|
| 1877 | 1.341.300 | 24.8 | 93/397 | 2
|
| 1878 | 1.328.100 | 23.1 | 94/397 | 1
|
| 1881 | 1,182,900 | 23.2 | 100/397 | 6
|
| 1884 | 1.282,000 | 22.6 | 99/397 |  1
|
| 1887 | 1.516.200 | 20.1 | 98/397 | 1
|
| 1890 | 1.342.100 | 18.6 | 106/397 | 8
|
| 1893 | 1,468,500 | 19.1 | 96/397 | 10
|
| 1898 | 1.455.100 | 18.8 | 102/397 | 6
|
| 1903 | 1,875,300 | 19.8 | 100/397 | 2
|
| 1907 | 2.179.800 | 19.4 | 105/397 | 5
|
| 1912 | 1,996,800 | 19.4 | 91/397 | 14
|
Federal elections (Weimar Republic)
| Year | # Of votes | % of votes | # Of obtained | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1919 | 5.980.216 | 19.67 | 91/421 |  0
|
| 1920 | 3.845.001 | 13.64 | 64/459 | 27
|
| May. 1924 | 3.914.379 | 13.37 | 65/472 | 1
|
| Dec. 1924 | 4.118.849 | 13.60 | 69/493 | 4
|
| 1928 | 3.712.152 | 12.07 | 61/491 | 8
|
| 1930 | 4.127,000 | 11.81 | 68/577 | 7
|
| Jul. 1932 | 4.589.430 | 12.44 | 75/608 | 7
|
| Nov. 1932 | 4.230.545 | 11.93 | 70/584 | 5
|
| 1933 | 4.424.905 | 11.25 | 73/647 | 3
|
Federal Elections (FRG)
| Year | # Of votes | % of votes | # Of obtained | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | 727.505 | 3.1 | 10/402 | |
| 1953 | 217.078 | 0.8 | 3/509 | 7
|
| 1957 | 254.322 | 0.9 | 0/519 | 3
|
| 1965 | 19.832 | 0.1 | 0/518 | 0
|
| 1969 | 15.933 | 0.0 | 0/518 | 0
|
| 1987 | 19.035 | 0.1 | 0/519 | 0
|
| 1994 | 3.757 | 0.0 | 0/672 | 0
|
| 1998 | 2.076 | 0.0 | 0/669 | 0
|
| 2002 | 3.127 | 0.0 | 0/603 | 0
|
| 2005 | 4.010 | 0.0 | 0/614 | 0
|
| 2009 | 6.087 | 0.0 | 0/622 | 0
|
- Note: did not participate in the federal elections of 1961, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1983, 1990 or any subsequent to 2009.
European Parliament elections
| Year | # Of vows | % of votes | # of seats obtained | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 31.367 | 0.1 | 0/81 | |
| 1984 | 93.921 | 0.4 | 0/81 | 0
|
| 1989 | 41.190 | 0.1 | 0/81 | 0
|
| 1999 | 7.080 | 0.0 | 0/99 | 0
|
| 2004 | 26.803 | 0.1 | 0/99 | 0
|
- Note: did not participate in the European elections of 1994, nor in any subsequent elections of 2004.
Category
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