German Social Union (East Germany)
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The German Social Union (German: Deutsche Soziale Union) is a small right-wing conservative political party active in the eastern German states since 1990. It was started as a conservative opposition group during the "Wende" in the German Democratic Republic. It presently has 1,100 members.[citation needed]
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Ideology [edit]
Ideologically, the party's goals are to preserve and uphold Western-Christian civilization, and to dismantle the welfare state[citation needed].
The party can thus be seen as right-wing (anti-socialistic) national-conservative. It strongly differentiates itself from the National Democratic Party (NPD) and German People's Union (DVU), who tend more towards national-socialism. Its closest ideological ally among the right-wing parties is The Republicans.[citation needed]
History [edit]
In the chaotic world of 1989–1990 East German politics, several long-suppressed cultural and political movements (re)emerged, and numerous small parties sprang up. The German Social Union was one of these, and has continued to exist into the present.
The party was founded in Leipzig on 20 January 1990 by the Leipzig pastor Hans-Wilhelm Ebeling, modeled loosely on the Christian Social Union of Bavaria (its ideology has drifted in a more nationalistic direction than the center-right CSU since that time). Its most prominent member was Peter Michael Diestel. On 5 February 1990, it joined the Alliance for Germany, led by the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the now-defunct Democratic Departure (DA). The DSU polled a strong 6.3% of the vote in the elections of 1990. In subsequent elections its vote-share has remained under 1% of the vote in all eastern Landtag elections, but it has a loyal following of voters, especially in Saxony. Its activities in the western states are limited.
The DSU had one member of the Landtag of Saxony from 2006 to 2009. This came about after Klaus Baier defected from the NPD and joined the DSU in 2006. Baier had been elected as an NPD member in the 2004 state election in Saxony, but a series of disputes led to his resignation from the party, after which he joined the DSU.
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