The 2021 German federal election is expected to be held on 26 September 2021 to elect the members of the 20th Bundestag. On the same day, the state elections in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern will also be held. Incumbent Chancellor Angela Merkel will not run in this election meaning it’s time to look at the main political parties for this election.
Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU)
The Christian Democratic Union of Germany is a Christian-democratic and liberal-conservative political party. It is the major catch-all party of the centre-right in German politics. Armin Laschet has been federal chairman of the CDU since January 2021 replacing Angela Merkel. The CDU is the largest party in the Bundestag, the German federal legislature (parliament), holding 200 out of 709 seats.
According to German Federal Electoral Law, members of a parliamentary group which share the same basic political aims must not compete with one another in any federal state which is why they form a union with fellow Christian Democratic Party the CSU. The CSU also reflects the particular concerns of the largely rural, Catholic south Germany. While the two Christian Democratic parties are commonly described as sister parties, they have been sharing a common parliamentary group since 1949.
Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU)
The Christian Social Union in Bavaria is a Christian-democratic and conservative political party in Germany. Having a regionalist identity, the CSU operates only in Bavaria while its larger counterpart, the Christian Democratic Union, operates in the other 15 states of Germany. It differs from the CDU by being somewhat more conservative.
Social Democratic Party of Germany (SDP)
The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the two major parties of Germany along with the Christian Democratic Union of Germany. Saskia Esken and Norbert Walter-Borjans have been the SDP leaders since the 2019 leadership election. It is the second-largest party in the Bundestag with 152 out of 709 seats, having won 20.5% of votes cast in the last election.
Alternative for Germany (AFD)
Alternative for Germany is a German nationalist and right-wing populist political party, known for its opposition to the European Union and immigration. It is on the “far right” of the political spectrum.
Free Democratic Party (FDP)
The Free Democratic Party is a classical-liberal political party in Germany. The FDP is led by Christian Wolfgang Lindner.
The Left
The Left, also commonly referred to as the Left Party, is a democratic socialist political party. The party was founded in 2007 as the result of the merger of the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) and Labour and Social Justice. Through PDS, the party is the direct descendant of the Marxist-Leninist ruling party of the former East Germany, the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED). Since 2021, The Left's co-chairpersons have been Janine Wissler and Susanne Hennig-Wellsow in an attempt to gain more votes this time round. The party currently holds 69 seats out of 709 in the Bundestag, the federal legislature of Germany.
Alliance 90/the Greens
Alliance 90/The Greens, often simply referred to as the Greens, is a green political party in Germany.
Die PARTEI
Die PARTEI is a German political party. It was founded in 2004 by the editors of the German satirical magazine ‘Titanic’. It is led by founder Martin Sonneborn. In the 2014 European Parliament election, the party won a seat, marking the first time ever that a satirical party has won a seat in the European Parliament. With the 2019 European Parliament election the party gained their second ever seat, held by Nico Semsrott. Partei für Arbeit, Rechtsstaat, Tierschutz, Elitenförderung und basisdemokratische Initiative ("Party for Labour, Rule of Law, Animal Protection, Promotion of Elites and Grass root-Democratic Initiative") is an acronym for PARTEI, the German word for party. The phrase die Partei ("the party") is evocative of totalitarian parties—such as the SED (the former ruling party of East Germany).
Free Voters
Free Voters in Germany may belong to an association of people which participates in an election running as independents.
Ecological Democratic Party (ODP)
The Ecological Democratic Party is an ecologist political party in Germany. The ÖDP was founded in 1982 as a federal party and is the recognised legal successor of the Green Action Future, the Green List for Environmental Protection and the Ecological Politics Working Group. The strongest level of voting support for the ÖDP is in Bavaria, where in federal state elections they have remained in a stable position with 2% of the votes since 1990, and at municipal level have increased their mandate count in 2014 from 320 to around 380. After the 2019 European elections, the party was represented in the European Parliament by Klaus Buchner.
Pirate Party Germany
The Pirate Party Germany, commonly known as Pirates, is a political party in Germany founded in September 2006 at c-base. It states general agreement with the Swedish Piratpartiet as a party of the information society; it is part of the international movement of pirate parties.
Volt Germany
Volt Europa is a pro-European and European federalist political movement that also serves as the pan-European structure for subsidiary parties in several EU member states. Candidates stood on a common, pan-European manifesto in eight member states at the European Parliament elections in May 2019.
The organisation follows a "pan-European approach" in many policy fields such as climate change, immigration, economic inequality, international conflict, terrorism and the impact of the technological revolution on the labour market. It was founded on 29 March 2017 and is the only party that also runs candidates outside of Germany. In March 2018, the first national subsidiary party was founded in Hamburg.
Family Party of Germany
The Family Party of Germany is a minor conservative political party in Germany. It has elected members to several local councils in the disputed state of Saarland. In the 2005 federal elections, the Family Party received 0.4% of the popular vote and no seats but have since made attempts at a comeback. The party wants to introduce a right to vote for children.
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