The CDU and German political culture: A confessional party response to a changing nation

The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) of the Federal Republic of Germany is an interconfessional Sammelpartei (catch-all party) based on the Catholic social principles of personalism, solidarism, and subsidiarity. This paper examines the development of the CDU since 1950, the way it shaped the political culture of the Federal Republic of Germany, how well it has held to its principles, and its ability to maintain itself as the leading party in the united Germany based on CDU election campaigns, CDU history and the philosophical and ideological writings of leading CDU intellectuals. The CDU can take credit for helping to lead Germany to democracy and a functioning civil society; however, its abandonment of many of its Catholic philosophical roots in favor of protecting the economy may hurt its chances for leadership as it tries to transform Eastern Germany and serve as a role model for Christian Democrats in Eastern Europe.