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123-629: Wolfgang Schäuble ( German pronunciation: [ˈvɔlfɡaŋ ˈʃɔʏblə] ; 18 September 1942 – 26 December 2023) was a German politician whose political career spanned more than five decades. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), he was the longest-serving member of any democratic German parliament. Schäuble served as the 13th president of the Bundestag from 2017 to 2021. Born in Freiburg im Breisgau in 1942, Schäuble studied at both

246-492: A "wage floor", after having expressly rejected minimum wages during the previous years. Psephologist and Merkel advisor Matthias Jung coined the term "asymmetric demobilisation" for the CDU's strategy (practised in the 2009, 2013 and 2017 campaigns) of adopting issues and positions close to its rivals, e.g. regarding social justice (SPD) and ecology (Greens), thus avoiding conflicts that might mobilise their potential supporters. Some of

369-529: A 2015 meeting of the G-20 major economies, he called for better integration of Islamic finance into the international financial system. When Federal President Joachim Gauck announced in June 2016 that he would not stand for reelection, Schäuble was soon mentioned by German and international media as likely successor; the post eventually went to Frank-Walter Steinmeier instead. From late 2016, Schäuble served as member of

492-530: A CDU/CSU–FDP coalition. This marked the first change of coalition partner by a Chancellor in German history and the first centre-right coalition government since 1998. CDU candidate Christian Wulff won the 2010 presidential election in the third ballot, while opposition candidate Joachim Gauck (a Protestant pastor and former anti-communist activist in East Germany, who was favoured even by some CDU members) received

615-693: A common youth organisation, the Junge Union , a common pupil organisation, the Schüler Union Deutschlands  [ de ] , a common student organisation, the Ring Christlich-Demokratischer Studenten and a common Mittelstand organisation, the Mittelstands- und Wirtschaftsvereinigung  [ de ] . The CDU and CSU are legally and organisationally separate parties; their ideological differences are sometimes

738-486: A core group of European Union countries to move ahead faster with economic and political integration. Countries such as Britain should put forward proposals for returning some competences to national governments, they said, while "the EU should focus mainly on the following areas: a fair and open internal market; trade; currency and financial markets; climate, environment and energy; and foreign and security policy." Also, they proposed

861-471: A hard line toward Southern European countries during the eurozone crisis , and rejected calls from the International Monetary Fund to give Greece more time to rein in deficits. A proponent of austerity policies, Schäuble's 2014 budget allowed Germany to take on no new debt for the first time since 1969, which is generally known as Black Zero in CDU election campaigns. On 27 September 2017,

984-712: A member of the CDU. From 1969 to 1972, he was district chairman of the Junge Union in South Baden . From 1976 to 1984, he served as chairman of the CDU National Committee for Sport. Schäuble has been a member of the Bundestag since 1972 . On 21 October 2017, Schäuble became the longest serving member of parliament in German history overtaking August Bebel , who had been a member of the North German Reichstag and

1107-459: A number of "faithless" votes from the government camp. The decisions to suspend conscription (late 2010) and to phase out nuclear energy (shortly after the Fukushima disaster in 2011) broke with long-term principles of the CDU, moving the party into a more socially liberal direction and alienating some of its more conservative members and voters. At its November 2011 conference the party proposed

1230-437: A result, the party claims to represent "Christian-social, liberal and conservative" elements. The CDU is generally pro-European in outlook. Black is the party's customary and historical electoral colour. Other colours include red for the logo, orange for the flag, and black-red-gold for the corporate design. Since the election defeat in the 2021 federal election, the CDU is in opposition at federal level. It previously led

1353-466: A rise in support for the CDU in national polling, and her personal popularity was initially high. However, she suffered a sharp decline in popularity in the lead-up to the 2019 European Parliament election , in which the CDU/CSU suffered its worst ever result in a national election with just 29%. Kramp-Karrenbauer thereafter remained one of the least popular politicians nationally. The CSU's Manfred Weber

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1476-629: A source of conflict. The most notable and serious such incident was in 1976, when the CSU under Franz Josef Strauß ended the alliance with the CDU at a party conference in Wildbad Kreuth. This decision was reversed shortly thereafter when the CDU threatened to run candidates against the CSU in Bavaria. The relationship of CDU to the CSU has historic parallels to previous Christian-democratic parties in Germany, with

1599-456: A student movement the RCDS was despised ever again. Only with the beginning of the 1990s the RCDS got a chance of rising as student representatives again because former dominating politically left oriented student associations (German: MSB; SHB; RSG) collapsed. In the pivotal year of 1990 the RCDS began founding university groups in the new states of Germany as well. In April 2008 the RCDS established

1722-628: A total of thirteen years. In 1982, the FDP withdrew from the coalition with the SPD and allowed the CDU to regain power. CDU Chairman Helmut Kohl became the new Chancellor of West Germany and his CDU/CSU–FDP coalition was confirmed in the 1983 federal election . After the collapse of the East German government in 1989, Kohl—supported by the governments of the United States and reluctantly by those of France and

1845-518: A variety of religions as well as non-religious individuals. The CDU's policies derive from political Catholicism , Catholic social teaching and political Protestantism as well as economic liberalism and national conservatism . The party has adopted more liberal economic policies since Helmut Kohl 's term in office as the Chancellor of Germany (1982–1998). As a conservative party, the CDU supports stronger punishments of crimes and involvement on

1968-456: Is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany . It is the major party of the centre-right in German politics . Friedrich Merz has been federal chairman of the CDU since 31 January 2022. The CDU is the second largest party in the Bundestag , the German federal legislature, with 152 out of 736 seats, having won 18.9% of votes in the 2021 federal election . It forms

2091-496: Is a positive investment in the future development of Germany and Europe. Everyone has the right of education and everyone needs to have access to educational institutions such as the university. Through education every person is able to recognize their personal skills and liberties and with that be encouraged in taking personal and social responsibility within society. For that the RCDS places itself particularly against any interventions into sciences, research and teaching. Furthermore,

2214-589: Is mostly funded by taxpayer money. Both the CDU and the Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU) originated after World War II, sharing a concern for the Christian worldview. In the Bundestag, the CDU is represented in a common faction with the CSU. This faction is called CDU/CSU , or informally the Union. Its basis is a binding agreement known as a Fraktionsvertrag between the two parties. The CDU and CSU share

2337-461: Is not promoted by the RCDS as universities should be at liberty also in the choice of students for their particular university or faculty. The RCDS strongly recommends the self-government of universities and for that supports the idea of a private as well as governmental financing of universities. In addition to the party platform which was enacted in 2013, the RCDS adopted their European policy program one year later in 2014. The program strictly claims

2460-543: Is one of five founding members of the European Democrat Students , which arose from cooperation between RCDS and Swedish students that started in 1958 at RCDS's annual meeting in West Berlin . The work field primarily important for the RCDS is university policies: promoting the students self administration and working towards a responsible distribution of financial means of universities is a main aim. As education

2583-483: Is ongoing tolerance or cooperation of CDU at the local and district level with the right-wing radical AfD. CDU-head Friedrich Merz polarizes with political approaches to the AfD and called the CDU in 2023 one «Alternative with substance». Political observers from abroad say that the CDU's boundaries to the far-right are eroding. The party congress is the highest organ of the CDU. It meets at least every two years, determines

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2706-454: Is the most important trait people can accomplish, the RCDS promotes exchanges of university places and makes access available to book and internship markets. Moreover, the RCDS regularly informs students about important information such as how to apply for BAföG or a stipend as well as how to spend a semester or the whole course of studies abroad. The values of the RCDS are based on the inviolable, inalienable human dignity. Given this foundation,

2829-463: The Heimatvertriebene associations (Germans who fled or were expelled from the eastern territories) who hoped for a return of or in these territories. Seven Bundestag members, including former vice chancellor Erich Mende , defected from the FDP and SPD to the CDU in protest against these treaties, depriving Brandt of his majority, and providing a thin majority for the CDU and CSU. In April 1972,

2952-760: The 2009 federal election , Schäuble, by then one of Germany's most seasoned politicians, became Minister of Finance in October 2009. Then aged 67, he was the oldest man in the cabinet and the longest-serving member of the parliament in the history of the Federal Republic. He was also one of seven conservative ministers in Merkel's outgoing government who remained in power. By 2014, the Wall Street Journal called Schäuble "Germany's second most powerful person after Chancellor Angela Merkel". During his time in office, Schäuble

3075-489: The 2020 Thuringian government crisis . The Thuringian CDU had been perceived as cooperating with the Alternative for Germany (AfD) to prevent the election of a left-wing government, breaching the long-standing taboo in Germany surrounding cooperation with the far-right. Kramp-Karrenbauer was perceived as unable to enforce discipline within the party during the crisis, which she claimed was complicated by unclear positions within

3198-573: The CDU/CSU Bundestag faction, also known as the Union, with its Bavarian counterpart, the Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU). The group's parliamentary leader is also Friedrich Merz . Founded in 1945 as an interdenominational Christian party, the CDU effectively succeeded the pre-war Catholic Centre Party , with many former members joining the party, including its first leader Konrad Adenauer . The party also included politicians of other backgrounds, including liberals and conservatives. As

3321-563: The Eurogroup , suggestions soon gathered pace that Chancellor Angela Merkel was pressing for Schäuble to take up the position; the job later went to Jeroen Dijsselbloem instead. In the negotiations to form a coalition government following the 2013 federal elections , he led the CDU/CSU delegation in the financial policy working group; his co-chair from the SPD was the Mayor of Hamburg , Olaf Scholz . Between 2014 and 2015, Schäuble and Scholz again led

3444-541: The European Commission to draw up EU-wide laws to curb corporate tax avoidance and prevent member states from offering lower taxes to attract investors, calling for a comprehensive anti-BEPS ( Base Erosion and Profit Shifting ) directive for member states to adopt by the end of 2015. On Schäuble's initiative, Germany became a founding member of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank . At

3567-574: The European Union , the party opposes the entry of Turkey, preferring instead a privileged partnership. In addition to citing various human rights violations, the CDU also believes that Turkey's unwillingness to recognise Cyprus as an independent sovereign state contradicts the European Union policy that its members must recognise the existence of one another. The CDU has governed in four federal-level and numerous state-level Grand Coalitions with

3690-646: The International Democracy Union , and the European People's Party (EPP). It is the largest party in the EPP with 23 MEPs . Ursula von der Leyen , the current President of the European Commission , is also a member of the CDU. Immediately following the end of World War II and the foreign occupation of Germany , simultaneous yet unrelated meetings began occurring throughout the country, each with

3813-599: The Reichstag from 1867 until 1881 and from 1883 until 1913. From 1981 to 1984 he was parliamentary whip of the CDU/CSU group and in November 1991 he became its chairman. Schäuble gave up this position as chairman in 2000 as another consequence of the financing scandal. Between October 2002 and 2005, Schäuble served as the parliamentary group's deputy chairman, under the leadership of Angela Merkel . Schäuble has always been elected to

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3936-649: The SPD was Brigitte Zypries . Once the new government was formed, Schäuble once again became Minister of the Interior, this time in the Grand Coalition under Chancellor Angela Merkel. Between 2007 and 2009, Schäuble was one of 32 members of the Second Commission on the modernization of the federal state , which had been established to reform the division of powers between federal and state authorities in Germany. Following

4059-548: The Social Democratic Party (SPD) as well as in state and local-level coalitions with the Alliance 90/The Greens . The CDU has an official party congress adjudication that prohibits coalitions and any sort of cooperation with either The Left or the Alternative for Germany . CDU officially prohibits any cooperation with the AfD , but does not clearly define what that means. In the eastern federal states , however, there

4182-500: The University of Freiburg and the University of Hamburg and subsequently began a career in law at the district court of Offenburg in 1978. His political career began in 1969 as a member of the Junge Union , the youth division of the CDU and CSU; in 1972, Schäuble was elected to the Bundestag by winning the constituency seat of Offenburg, and he was a member of the Bundestag until his death. His ministerial career began in 1984 when he

4305-449: The University of Freiburg and the University of Hamburg , which he completed in 1966 and 1970 by passing the First and Second State Examinations respectively, becoming a fully qualified lawyer. In 1971, Schäuble obtained his doctorate in law, with a dissertation called "The public accountant's professional legal situation within accountancy firms". Schäuble entered the tax administration of

4428-594: The White House . In 2002, shortly before the Iraq War , Schäuble accused German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder of "strengthening Saddam Hussein " by undermining the unanimity of international pressure on Iraq to open up to United Nations weapons inspectors. On Schröder's initiative to join forces with President Jacques Chirac of France and President Vladimir Putin of Russia in opposing the war, Schäuble commented: "This triangular relationship involving Berlin, Paris and Moscow

4551-481: The annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation . Similar to Vladimir Putin , Adolf Hitler had claimed that "ethnic Germans" in peripheral regions of what was then Czechoslovakia required protection. In 1999 Schäuble initiated a CDU/CSU petition campaign against the reform of German nationality law under the slogan "Integration: yes – double citizenship: no". In response to anti-immigrant rallies in

4674-489: The federal government from 1949 to 1969, 1982 to 1998, and 2005 to 2021. Germany's three longest-serving post-war Chancellors have all come from the CDU, more specifically: Helmut Kohl (1982–1998), Angela Merkel (2005–2021), and Konrad Adenauer (1949–1963). The party also currently leads the governments of six of Germany's sixteen states . The CDU is a member of the Centrist Democrat International ,

4797-430: The "dominant culture" imply "tolerance and living together". According to party analyst Stephan Eisel, her avoiding the values issue may have had the opposite effect as she failed to mobilize the party's core constituency. The CDU applies the principles of Christian democracy and emphasizes the "Christian understanding of humans and their responsibility toward God". However, CDU membership consists of people adhering to

4920-497: The 1960s (see Vergangenheitsbewältigung ), the CDU attracted conservative , anti-communist , former Nazis as well as Nazi collaborators into its higher ranks (like Hans Globke and Theodor Oberländer but also future CDU chairman and West German chancellor Kurt Georg Kiesinger ). A prominent member was theologian Eugen Gerstenmaier , who became Acting Chairman of the Foreign Board (1949–1969). The result of these meetings

5043-526: The Bundestag by means of winning an electorate seat, rather than through a list placing in Germany's system of proportional political representation . On 15 November 1984, Schäuble was appointed as Minister for Special Affairs and head of the Chancellery by Chancellor Helmut Kohl. When in 1986 Soviet press belabored Kohl for having, in a magazine interview, made a comparison between the propaganda skills of Mikhail S. Gorbachev and Joseph Goebbels , Schäuble

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5166-495: The CDU and CSU wanted to put Schäuble forward as their candidate for the office of German President, the largely ceremonial head of state, at the beginning of March 2004, due to his extensive political experience. In spite of support from the Premiers of Bavaria ( Edmund Stoiber (CSU)) and Hesse ( Roland Koch (CDU)), Schäuble did not receive the party's nomination in the end because CDU leader Angela Merkel, other CDU politicians and

5289-591: The CDU and the CSU on the respective organizational levels. Hence, the RCDS effectively grants the right to have a say in a matter in a similar fashion as the Young Union. The federal association conciliates the work of the groups and is responsible for expressing student interests on the federal policy level. Furthermore, the federal association organizes seminars, congresses and other events. It also initiates nationwide actions and campaigns and publishes information documents and engages with subjects that are essential to

5412-547: The CDU officially elected Merz as new party Chairman on 22 January 2022, and he assumed office on 31 January 2022. In October 2024, CDU again became proponents of nuclear energy , advocating reactivation of closed reactors and construction of new plants. Defunct Defunct In her 2005 campaign, Angela Merkel was unwilling to express explicitly Christian views while maintaining that her party had never lost its concept of values. Merkel and Bundestag President Norbert Lammert have been keen to clarify that CDU references to

5535-464: The CDU saw its chance to return to power, calling a constructive vote of no confidence . CDU chairman Rainer Barzel was almost certain to become the new Chancellor. But not all parliamentarians voted as expected (it was later revealed that two CDU/CSU deputies had been bribed by the East German Stasi ): Brandt won the vote and stayed in office. Thus, the CDU continued its role as opposition for

5658-415: The CDU supported, reluctantly, nonpartisan candidate Joachim Gauck. The CDU/CSU–FDP coalition lasted until the 2013 federal election , when the FDP lost all its seats in the Bundestag while the CDU and CSU won their best result since 1990, only a few seats short of an absolute majority. This was partly due to the CDU's expansion of voter base to all socio-structural groups (class, age or gender), partly due to

5781-425: The CDU was still "sufficiently conservative" or if it was "social-democratising". In March 2009, Merkel answered with the statement "Sometimes I am liberal, sometimes I am conservative, sometimes I am Christian-social—and this is what defines the CDU." Although the CDU/CSU lost support in the 2009 federal elections , their "desired partner" the FDP experienced the best election cycle in its history, thereby enabling

5904-487: The CDU. It is named after the first Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany and first president of the CDU. The foundation offers political education, conducts scientific fact-finding research for political projects, grants scholarships to gifted individuals, researches the history of Christian democracy and supports and encourages European unification , international understanding and development-policy cooperation. Its annual budget amounts to around 120 million euro and

6027-505: The CDU/CSU group in the Bundestag announced Schäuble's nomination as president of the Bundestag. He was elected to that position on 24 October 2017 and held that position until the CDU/CSU was defeated in the 2021 federal election . Schäuble was born in Freiburg im Breisgau , as the son of tax finance advisor and politician Karl Schäuble  [ de ] and Gertrud Göhring. He is the middle brother of three. After completing his Abitur in 1961, Schäuble studied law and economics at

6150-691: The Catholic Centre Party having served as a national Catholic party throughout the German Empire and the Weimar Republic while the Bavarian People's Party functioning as the Bavarian variant. Ring Christlich-Demokratischer Studenten The organisation stands politically near the Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union , two conservative German political parties. It

6273-514: The Christian Democrats' campaign to unseat incumbent Gerhard Schröder as chancellor. During the campaign, Schäuble served as Merkel's expert for security and foreign policy. Following the elections, Schäuble was mentioned as potential candidate for the office of Federal Minister of Defense . In the subsequent negotiations to form a coalition government , he led the CDU/CSU delegation in the working group on interior policy; his co-chair from

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6396-505: The Commission over time into a European 'government ' ". Following the Brexit in 2016, Schäuble urged Member States to be more pragmatic and take an intergovernmental approach to solving problems. Schäuble was considered a "committed transatlanticist". On 7 June 2011, he was among the guests invited to the state dinner hosted by President Barack Obama in honor of Chancellor Angela Merkel at

6519-511: The European Union to adopt a policy they called " variable geometry " under which five countries most committed to integration – Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxemburg – would proceed swiftly toward monetary union, joint foreign and defense policies and other forms of integration. In 2014, both reiterated their ideas in an op-ed for the Financial Times , renewing their call for

6642-532: The FDP and Greens, they continued their grand coalition with the SPD. In October 2018, Merkel announced that she would step down as leader of the CDU that December and not seek reelection, but wanted to remain as Chancellor until 2021. On 7 December 2018, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer was elected as federal chairwoman of the CDU. Kramp-Karrenbauer was considered Merkel's ideological successor, though holding more socially conservative positions, such as opposition to same-sex marriage . Kramp-Karrenbauer's election saw

6765-569: The Federal Republic of Germany and the city of Berlin. Many of the activists that were forced to shun the Sowjet Occupation Zone or the GDR established new university groups in the west of Germany which incorporated themselves since 1951 being the Association of Christian Democratic Students. However, at universities of West Germany the RCDS at first had no major influence as doing "party politics"

6888-511: The German government's cabinet committee on Brexit at which ministers discuss organizational and structural issues related to the United Kingdom's departure from the European Union . Following the 2017 elections , Schäuble was persuaded to step down as Minister of Finance. He was nominated by the majority CDU/CSU parliamentary group as the next president of the Bundestag, succeeding Norbert Lammert . In his capacity as president, he chaired

7011-526: The Homeland-Faithful German Youth (HDJ), a far-right group, on grounds that it organizes seemingly harmless activities, such as holiday activities, to promote racist and Nazi ideology among children and young people. Between 2015 and 2016, Schäuble and the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany , which manages aid to Holocaust survivors, negotiated a budget of some $ 500 million,

7134-507: The RCDS find themselves in the Association of Christian Democratic Academics (RCDA). The federal association of the RCDA has been founded in 1991 on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the RCDS. Though, some isolated local RCDA groups such as in Göttingen have been around for much longer. The association is currently being led by a federal board consisting of four members. The first RCDS Federation

7257-513: The RCDS supports liberty, justice, responsibility, tolerance and efficiency. The RCDS is joinable for every university student that represents himself supportive of the Liberal Democratic Basic Order, the idea of the Christian conception of mankind and the above-mentioned. The RCDS supports the idea of a society in which people have the opportunity to free self-actualization and with that the chance of an active, social commitment to

7380-408: The RCDS. The federal association is represented both internally and externally by an executive board consisting of three members which is elected for a year by the assembly of national delegates. Thereby, the federal association receives support from up to four elected assessors as well as through the advisory council and if applicable through a committee of experts and other specialists. The alumni of

7503-587: The Socialist Unity Party of Germany. Many Christian democratic student representatives just as Werner Neumann (1946), Georg Wrazidlo (1947) or Hanns Beitz (1948) got arbitrarily arrested. After the student councils got abolished in the GDR (German: DDR) and the Free German Youth got elected as the exclusive representation of interests, the CDH university groups relocated their main field of work in centering on

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7626-572: The United Kingdom—called for German reunification. On 3 October 1990, the government of East Germany was abolished and its territory acceded to the territory of the Basic Law already in place in West Germany. The East German CDU merged with its West German counterpart and elections were held for the reunified country. Public support for the coalition's work in the process of German reunification

7749-427: The Western alliance made it harder to attract Protestant voters to the party, as most refugees from the former German territories east of the Oder river were of that faith, as were the majority of the inhabitants of East Germany . Therefore, the CDU was the dominant political party for the first two decades following the establishment of West Germany in 1949. The durable alliance that the party had established with

7872-402: The argument in favour of moving the German capital from Bonn to Berlin. There was constant speculation that he would replace Kohl as Chancellor, whose popularity was declining. In November 1991, Schäuble became the Christian Democrats' parliamentary floor leader, replacing 71-year-old Alfred Dregger , in a move that made him Kohl's likely heir-apparent. In 1997 Helmut Kohl stated that Schäuble

7995-435: The association strictly refuses the Civil Clause and ever again points out the major importance of liberty of sciences, research and teachings at German universities. The opportunity of studying at a university should be declined for nobody because of a lack of financial means. Every person should be able to study at a university and recuperate an academic title. The centralization of the allocation of places in higher education

8118-425: The basic lines of CDU policy, approves the party program and decides on the statutes of the CDU. The CDU party congress consists of the delegates of the CDU regional associations, the foreign associations and the honorary chairmen . The state associations send exactly 1,000 delegates who have to be elected by the state or district conventions. The number of delegates that a regional association can send depends on

8241-475: The community and overall society. The RCDS as an organization commits itself to the European maxim United in Diversity. The RCDS pleads for pan-European studying as well as for the European Higher Education Area. The RCDS supports the social market economy in which the country should serve a competitive environment. For the enhancement of universities this means that the state should provide every university with adequate financial means because every university place

8364-492: The constitution to allow the military's use for domestic security purposes. Among the methods that he believed Germans should at least debate are preventive detention of people suspected of terrorist activities and assassinations of the leaders of terrorist organizations. In March 2007, Schäuble said in an interview that the application of presumption of innocence should not be relevant for the authorization of counter-terrorist operations . Later that same year Schäuble proposed

8487-497: The defeat of the CDU/CSU in the 1998 federal election , Schäuble succeeded his mentor Helmut Kohl as chairman of the CDU, but resigned after less than two years in the aftermath of the 1999 CDU donations scandal . In 2005, Schäuble again became minister of the interior in the cabinet of chancellor Angela Merkel , and in 2009 minister of finance , a position he remained in for almost eight years. Described in this capacity as "Germany's second most powerful person" after Merkel, he took

8610-475: The discontent of some conservatives with the Merkel administration's handling of the European debt crisis (2009–14) and later the 2015 refugee crisis , lamenting a purported loss of sovereignty and control or even "state failure". Nearly 10 percent of early AfD members were defectors from the CDU. In 2017, the Bundestag voted to legalise same-sex marriage . Merkel had allowed the conscience vote to happen despite her personal objections. While she herself and

8733-518: The eastern city of Dresden in late 2014, Schäuble said that immigration is good for Germany and politicians must explain better that everyone stands to gain from it; at the time, the number of asylum seekers in Germany, many from Syria , had more than doubled within a year to around 200,000, and net immigration was at its highest level in two decades. "Just as we used millions of refugees and expellees after World War Two to rebuild ... so we need immigration today", Schäuble told Bild when asked about

8856-548: The establishment of a European budget commissioner with powers to reject national budgets if they do not correspond to the jointly agreed rules and a "eurozone parliament" comprising the MEPs of eurozone countries to strengthen the democratic legitimacy of decisions affecting the single currency bloc. On 21 November 2011 Schäuble said the euro would emerge stronger from the current crisis, and ultimately all non-members would be convinced to sign up. He said Great Britain would eventually join

8979-403: The euro (but that he respected Britain's decision to keep the pound). On a British exit from the EU, Schäuble argued in 2014 that Britain's EU membership was particularly important for Germany as both countries share a market-oriented reform approach in many economic and regulatory questions. In 2015, then-Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis of Greece called Schäuble "the intellectual force behind

9102-613: The expense of concessions to the Soviet Union (USSR), depicting Adenauer as an instrument of both the Americans and the Vatican . The Western powers appreciated the CDU's right-ward slant, its commitment to capitalism, and its value as a pivotal oppositional force to the communists, thereby keeping consistent with US/UK foreign policy. In addition, Adenauer was also trusted by the British. However,

9225-423: The federal party congress. For this reason it is often called a small party congress . The CDU federal executive heads the federal party. It implements the resolutions of the federal party congress and the federal committee and convenes the federal party congress. The CDU Presidium is responsible for executing the resolutions of the federal executive committee and handling current and urgent business. It consists of

9348-451: The first Chairman of the party. In the beginning, it was not clear which party would be favored by the victors of World War II , but by the end of the 1940s the governments of the United States and of the United Kingdom began to lean more toward the CDU and significantly away from the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), especially due to geopolitical reasons. The latter was more nationalist and sought German reunification even at

9471-528: The first time in its history. The CDU and CSU were highly critical of Chancellor Willy Brandt 's "change through rapprochement" policy towards the Eastern bloc ( Ostpolitik ) and protested sharply against the 1970 treaties of Moscow and Warsaw that renounced claims to the former eastern territories of Germany and recognised the Oder–Neisse line as Germany's eastern border. The Union parties had close ties with

9594-605: The first time since 1969. In the first half of 2016, he recorded an 18.5 billion euros budget surplus. He has been described variously as the "personification of fiscal discipline" and "Europe's foremost ayatollah of austerity". Schäuble's reputation for tough control of spending has been helped by Germany's rapid recovery from recession but he has repeatedly rebuffed calls from government supporters for vote-winning tax cuts. Throughout his tenure, he stood by his position that structural reforms such as overhauling labor markets in Europe are

9717-426: The first woman and the first person from East Germany to lead the federal party. She remained the leader of the CDU for more than eighteen years. In the 2002 federal election , Merkel ceded the position of CDU/CSU's joint candidate for the chancellor's office to the leader of the sister party, Bavarian minister-president Edmund Stoiber . CDU and CSU polled slightly higher (29.5% and 9.0%, respectively), but still lacked

9840-469: The funeral of U.S. Senator   John McCain in 2018. Ahead of the Christian Democrats' leadership election in 2018, Schäuble publicly endorsed Friedrich Merz to succeed Angela Merkel as the party's chair. Following the 2021 German federal election , the SPD became the largest party in the Bundestag . By convention, the largest party gets to choose the President. The SPD nominated Bärbel Bas , who

9963-402: The governing coalition in 1966 due to disagreements over fiscal and economic policy, Erhard was forced to resign. Consequently, a grand coalition with the SPD took over government under CDU Chancellor Kurt Georg Kiesinger . The SPD quickly gained popularity and succeeded in forming a social-liberal coalition with the FDP following the 1969 federal election , forcing the CDU out of power for

10086-875: The intention of planning a Christian-democratic party. Consequently, the CDU was established in Berlin on 26 June 1945 and in Rheinland and Westfalen in September of the same year. The founding members of the CDU consisted primarily of former members of the Centre Party , the German Democratic Party , the German National People's Party , and the German People's Party . In the Cold War , years after World War II up to

10209-595: The introduction of legislation that would allow the German federal government to carry out targeted killing of terrorists, as well as outlaw the use of the Internet and cell phones for people suspected of being terrorist sympathizers. Christian Democratic Union of Germany Defunct Defunct The Christian Democratic Union of Germany ( German : Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands [ˈkʁɪstlɪç demoˈkʁaːtɪʃə ʔuˈni̯oːn ˈdɔʏtʃlants] , CDU German pronunciation: [ˌtseːdeːˈʔuː] )

10332-454: The largest one-time increase in homecare funding for survivors the organization has ever secured. Schäuble had long been considered one of several prominent conservatives in favour of shifting the CDU's restrictive stance on gay marriage. In June 2017, he voted against Germany's introduction of same-sex marriage . Schäuble called for stronger counterterrorism policies after joining the first Merkel government in 2005. Shortly after he assumed

10455-619: The leadership election was held in January 2021. Originally scheduled for April 2020, it was delayed multiple times due to the COVID-19 pandemic , and was ultimately held online. Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia Armin Laschet won the election with 52.8% of delegate votes. His main opponent Friedrich Merz , was seen as more right-wing, who won 47.2% of vote; Merz had also run against Kramp-Karrenbauer in 2018 and been defeated. Laschet's election

10578-408: The leading members of the federal executive board and is not an organ of the CDU in Germany. Before 1966, membership totals in the CDU organisation were only estimated. The numbers after 1966 are based on the total from 31 December of the previous year. In 2023, the CDU had 363.101 members. Notable suborganisations of the CDU are the following: The Konrad Adenauer Foundation is the think-tank of

10701-433: The liberal FDP party spoke out against him. This was because the election contributions scandal involving Schäuble that first came to light in late 1999 had never been entirely resolved. After the CDU was defeated in the 1998 federal election , Schäuble succeeded Helmut Kohl as chairman of the CDU. Only 15 months later, he resigned from this post as well as from the leadership of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in 2000 in

10824-500: The liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP) as the leading tandem of several federal governments, and, implicitly, the strong partnership between Chancellor Adenauer and President Theodor Heuss enabled West Germany to thoroughly rebuild itself in the wake of World War II. Adenauer remained the party's leader until 1963, when former Minister of Economics Ludwig Erhard replaced him. As the Free Democratic Party (FDP) withdrew from

10947-434: The majority needed for a CDU–FDP coalition government and stayed in opposition. In 2005, early elections were called after the CDU dealt the governing SPD a major blow, winning more than ten state elections, most of which were landslide victories . The resulting grand coalition between the CDU/CSU and the SPD faced a serious challenge stemming from both parties' demand for the chancellorship. After three weeks of negotiations,

11070-411: The majority of the party's representatives voted against the proposal, a number of CDU deputies supported it. In the 2017 election , the CDU and CSU lost a large portion of their voteshare: With 26.8 percent of party list votes, the CDU received its worst result since 1949, losing more than fifty seats in the Bundestag (despite an enlargement of the parliament). After failing to negotiate a coalition with

11193-560: The negotiations on overhauling the so-called solidarity surcharge on income and corporate tax ( Solidaritätszuschlag ) and reorganizing financial relations between Germany's federal government and the federal states. In a letter to the European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs Pierre Moscovici in late 2014, Schäuble and the finance ministers of the eurozone 's other big economies – Michel Sapin of France and Pier Carlo Padoan of Italy – urged

11316-451: The number of members of the association six months before the party congress and the result of the last federal election in the respective federal state. The foreign associations recognized by the federal executive committee each send a delegate to the party congress, regardless of their number of members. The federal committee is the second highest body and deals with all political and organizational matters that are not expressly reserved for

11439-410: The parliament's Council of Elders , which – among other duties – determines daily legislative agenda items and assigns committee chairpersons based on party representation. As Bundestag President, Schäuble worked to curb the antics of the far-right Alternative for Germany, the largest opposition party in the Bundestag. As the country's second-highest-ranking official , Schäuble represented Germany at

11562-469: The part of the Bundeswehr in cases of domestic anti-terrorism offensives. In terms of immigrants, the CDU supports initiatives to integrate immigrants through language courses and aims to further control immigration. Dual citizenship should only be allowed in exceptional cases. In terms of foreign policy , the CDU commits itself to European integration and a strong relation with the United States . In

11685-495: The party regarding cooperation with the AfD and The Left , which party statute holds to be equally unacceptable. While the Thuringia crisis was the immediate trigger for Kramp-Karrenbauer's resignation, she stated the decision had "matured some time ago", and media attributed it to the troubled development of her brief leadership. Kramp-Karrenbauer remained in office as Minister of Defence and interim party leader from February until

11808-470: The party was split over issues of rearmament within the Western alliance and German unification as a neutral state. Adenauer staunchly defended his pro-Western position and outmaneuvered some of his opponents. He also refused to consider the SPD as a party of the coalition until he felt sure that they shared his anti-communist position. The principled rejection of a reunification that would alienate Germany from

11931-427: The party's electoral defeat in 1998, when he was succeeded by Wolfgang Schäuble . In the 1998 federal election , the CDU polled 28.4% and the CSU 6.7% of the national vote, the lowest result for those parties since 1949; a red–green coalition under the leadership of Gerhard Schröder took power until 2005. Schäuble resigned in early 2000 as a result of a party financing scandal and was replaced by Angela Merkel ,

12054-501: The personal popularity of Chancellor Merkel. After talks with the Greens had failed, the CDU/CSU formed a new grand coalition with the SPD. Despite their long-cherished slogan of "There must be no democratically legitimised party to the right of CDU/CSU", the Union has had a serious competitor to its right since 2013. The right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) was founded with the involvement of disgruntled CDU members. It drew on

12177-587: The popularity of anti-immigration policies. Also, he held that "people are right to fear Islamist terrorism. But not Islam." In September 2015, he urged the Member States of the European Union to quickly establish a common European asylum law . Schäuble was among the high-ranking guests attending the re-opening of Rykestrasse Synagogue , Germany's largest synagogue, in September 2007. In May 2008, he banned two right-wing organizations he described as "reservoirs of organized Holocaust deniers". In 2009, he also banned

12300-444: The position of Minister of the Interior, the 2006 German train bombing plot became the closest Germany is known to have come to a large-scale terrorist attack since 11 September 2001 , and Schäuble publicly stated the country escaped that one only through luck. As a consequence of the terrorism threats, Schäuble proposed several controversial measures. Ahead of the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, he repeatedly advocated for amending

12423-476: The project of European Monetary Union ". In 2015, Schäuble raised the idea of stripping the European Commission of regulatory powers, expressing concern over its neutrality and willingness to fulfil its role as "guardian of the treaties", in particular with regard to the enforcement of rules on budget discipline; unnamed diplomats were cited by Reuters as stating that this was not incompatible with his reputation as "a veteran pro-European who has long favored turning

12546-566: The promises in the CDU's 2013 election platform were seen as "overtaking the SPD on the left". While this strategy proved to be quite successful in elections, it also raised warnings that the CDU's profile would become "random", the party would lose its "essence" and it might even be dangerous for democracy in general if parties became indistinguishable and voters demotivated. President Wulff resigned in February 2012 due to allegations of corruption, triggering an early presidential election . This time

12669-470: The so-called "Buddy-Programs" as well as the general offer of foreign language courses at universities. Unlike the Young Union which is a political association that belongs to the CDU/ CSU, the RCDS has the status of an allied organization and is therefore institutionally independent. The majority of the RCDS group chairmen as well as regional and federal chairmen are co-opted members from the executive boards of

12792-787: The state of Baden-Württemberg , eventually becoming a senior administration officer in the Freiburg tax office. Subsequently, he became a practising registered lawyer at the district court of Offenburg , from 1978 to 1984. Schäuble's political career began in 1961 with him joining the Junge Union ("Young Union"), the youth division of the CDU. During his studies he served as chairman of the Ring Christlich-Demokratischer Studenten (Association of Christian-Democrat Students, RCDS), in Hamburg and Freiburg. In 1965 Schäuble also became

12915-465: The sustainable promotion of European education areas as well as the enhancement of the ERASMUS program becoming ERASMUS+. Furthermore, the introduction of an ERASMUS loan is demanded. By the afore mentioned means the mobility of students and trainees within Europe should be increased. To support foreign students in Germany it would be advantageous to upgrade the typical orientation weeks at universities, expand

13038-504: The two parties reached a deal whereby CDU received the chancellorship while the SPD retained 8 of the 16 seats in the cabinet and a majority of the most prestigious cabinet posts. The coalition deal was approved by both parties at party conferences on 14 November. Merkel was confirmed as the first female Chancellor of Germany by the majority of delegates (397 to 217) in the newly assembled Bundestag on 22 November. Since her first term in office, from 2005 to 2009, there have been discussions if

13161-474: The wake of the party financing scandal , over the acceptance of cash donation over DM 100,000 contributed by the arms dealer and lobbyist Karlheinz Schreiber back in 1994. Schäuble's resignation initiated a generational change among the Christian Democrats, with Angela Merkel taking over as CDU leader and Friedrich Merz as chairman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group. Ahead of the 2005 elections , Angela Merkel included Schäuble in her shadow cabinet for

13284-459: The way out of a low-growth spiral. In 2013, for example, Schäuble and Vítor Gaspar , his counterpart in Portugal, announced a plan to use the German state development bank KfW to help set up a financial institution to assist Portuguese under age 25 in getting jobs or job training. In 2012, following the resignation of Jean-Claude Juncker as president of the 17 euro zone finance ministers, known as

13407-420: Was a dangerous development. It was very dangerous for the small countries in Europe because they perceived it as an axis and you can understand why. We want good relations with Russia but we do not want those relations to be misunderstood." Schäuble, in contrast to many German politicians, subsequently defended the United States' decision to invade Iraq . By 2006, he said he thought the overthrow of Saddam Hussein

13530-481: Was accused by the former Portuguese Prime Minister, José Sócrates , for regularly placing news in the media against Portugal during the eurozone crisis prior to the Portuguese bailout; Sócrates called him a "Sly Minister of Finance". A leading advocate of austerity during the eurozone crisis, Schäuble in 2014 pushed through a national budget of 299 billion euros that allowed Germany not to take on any new debt for

13653-572: Was appointed minister for special affairs by chancellor Helmut Kohl . In a 1989 reshuffle, Schäuble was appointed minister of the interior , and he led negotiations for reunification on behalf of the Federal Republic of Germany . During his tenure as minister of the interior, Schäuble was one of the most popular politicians in Germany and was regularly mentioned as a possible future chancellor, though he faced occasional criticism from civil rights activists for his law and order policies . After

13776-472: Was dispraised. Furthermore, their main electorate was primarily represented by conservative and mostly catholic members of German fraternity associations, religious student communities such as the KDSE (German: Katholische Deutsche Studenteneinigung) or independent student council representatives. With the beginning of the 1960s the RCDS was able to encourage their posture within the student parliament. However, due to

13899-442: Was elected during the opening session of the 20th Bundestag. Schäuble remained a Member of the Bundestag. Since he was the longest-serving Member of the Bundestag, serving as Alterspräsident , it was his task to oversee the opening session of the new Bundestag, including the election of his successor. Echoing earlier proposals made by Prime Minister Édouard Balladur of France, Schäuble and fellow lawmaker Karl Lamers in 1994 urged

14022-510: Was founded in the course of the first Federal Delegate Conference 1951 in Bonn. However, the first Christian democratic university groups (German: christlich demokratische Hochschulgruppen, CDH) already emerged shortly after the Second World War. At first they were mostly focussed on the Sowjet Occupation Zone (German: Sowjetische Besatzungszone), where they became a major force of resistance against

14145-465: Was his desired candidate to succeed him, but he did not want to hand over power until 2002. Because the CDU/CSU lost the 1998 election, he did not become Chancellor. After Eberhard Diepgen was voted out as mayor of Berlin, Schäuble was in talks to be the top candidate for the early election on 21 October 2001 , but was rejected by the Berlin branch of the CDU in favour of Frank Steffel . Some quarters of

14268-629: Was in itself correct, but that he was "doubtful" from the outset about the Iraq war because it resulted from a unilateral decision by the US. Schäuble accused Chancellor Gerhard Schröder of lacking an appropriate historical conscience, because he accepted alleged human rights violations by the Russian government without criticism. On 31 March 2014, Schäuble compared the annexation of the Sudetenland by Nazi Germany in 1938 to

14391-472: Was reiterated in the 1990 federal election in which the CDU–FDP governing coalition experienced a clear victory. Although Kohl was re-elected, the party began losing much of its popularity because of an economic recession in the former GDR and increased taxes in the west. The CDU was nonetheless able to win the 1994 federal election by a narrow margin thanks to an economic recovery. Kohl served as chairman until

14514-534: Was reported to have counseled the Chancellor against writing Gorbachev an apology for the remark, saying it would be misunderstood as a sign of weakness. In his capacity as Minister for Special Affairs, Schäuble was put in charge of the preparations for the first official state visit of Erich Honecker , Chairman of the State Council of the German Democratic Republic (GDR), in 1987. By that time, he

14637-565: Was seen as an affirmation of Merkel's leadership and the CDU's centrist orientation. On 7 October 2021, Armin Laschet, signaled that he would step down after a disastrous general election result, with the CDU suffering its worst ever general election result. A new leadership election was called in December and Friedrich Merz , of the right-wing faction of the CDU, was elected by a large majority of 62,1% of voters, defeating pro-Merkel candidates Norbert Röttgen and Helge Braun . The Congress of

14760-503: Was the Spitzenkandidat for the European People's Party in the 2019 European Parliament election. However, the EPP group ultimately nominated the CDU's Ursula von der Leyen as their candidate for President of the European Commission ; she was elected in July 2019, becoming the first woman to hold the office. Kramp-Karrenbauer resigned as party chair on 10 February 2020, in the midst of

14883-402: Was the establishment of an inter-confessional ( Catholic and Protestant alike) party influenced heavily by the political tradition of liberal conservatism . The CDU experienced considerable success gaining widespread support from the time of its creation in Berlin on 26 June 1945 until its first convention on 21 October 1950, at which future West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer was named

15006-540: Was widely considered to be one of Kohl's closest advisers. In a cabinet reshuffle Schäuble was made Minister of the Interior on 21 April 1989. In this role he also led the negotiations on behalf of the Federal Republic of Germany for reunification with the GDR in 1990. He and East German State Secretary Günther Krause signed the Unification Treaty on 31 August 1990. In a speech to parliament in 1991, Schäuble clinched

15129-572: Was widely regarded the most vocal advocate in the government of European integration, and a passionate proponent of co-operation with France. Along with Merkel, he often took a hard line toward some Southern European countries during the eurozone crisis . In 2012, Schäuble rejected calls from the chairwoman of the International Monetary Fund , Christine Lagarde , to give Greece more time to make additional spending cuts to rein in deficits. That same year, President Karolos Papoulias of Greece accused Schäuble of insulting his nation. In October 2013, Schäuble

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