The German Party (, DP) is a minor

national conservative National conservatism is a nationalist variant of conservatism that concentrates on upholding national and cultural identity, communitarianism and the public role of religion. It shares aspects of traditionalist conservatism and social conserva ...

German political party. It sees itself as the successor of the defunct conservative

German-Hanoverian Party The German-Hanoverian Party (, DHP), also known as the Guelph Party (), was an agrarian, federalist political party in the German Empire and the Weimar Republic. It represented the interests of Hanoverian separatists and regionalists that sought ...

and the German Party established in 1947, which was represented in the

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet (assembly), Diet") is the lower house of the Germany, German Federalism in Germany, federal parliament. It is the only constitutional body of the federation directly elected by the German people. The Bundestag wa ...

parliament until 1961.

History

The defunct German Party had continued to exist as an association, but it was re-founded as a political party at

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in North Hesse, northern Hesse, in Central Germany (geography), central Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel (region), Kassel and the d ...

in May 1993; the party has since worked with other

right-wing Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...

parties such as the

national liberal National liberalism is a variant of liberalism, combining liberal policies and issues with elements of nationalism. Historically, national liberalism has also been used in the same meaning as conservative liberalism (right-liberalism). A serie ...

''Bund freier Bürger'' (BFB). The new party was led by Johannes Freiherr von Campenhausen until 2001 when the former FDP and BFB politician Heiner Kappel took his place. Upon the 2003 merger with the ''Freiheitliche Deutsche Volkspartei'' (FDVP), a

far-right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...

splinter group of the

German People's Union The German People's Union (, DVU, also ''Liste D'') was a far-right nationalist political party in Germany. It was founded by publisher Gerhard Frey as an informal association in 1971 and established as a party in 1987. In 2011, it merged with ...

(DVU) in the state of

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt ( ; ) is a States of Germany, state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.17 million inhabitants, making it the List of German states ...

, it adopted the name affix ''Die Freiheitlichen'' referring to the

Freedom Party of Austria The Freedom Party of Austria (, FPÖ) is a political party in Austria, variously described as far-right, right-wing populist, national-conservative, and Eurosceptic. It has been led by Herbert Kickl since 2021. It is the largest of five part ...

and changed its course towards a more radical stance. Kappel was deposed in January 2005 after attempting to agree an alliance with the national conservative

Republicans Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

and the German Social Union, even though the membership had supported working with the far-right DVU and the National Democratic Party (NPD). A joint leadership of Eberhard Lehmann, Claudia Wiechmann (former chair of the FDVP) and Ulrich Paetzold took over and demanded Kappel's exclusion, later Lehmann was sidelined in favour of a joint leadership. Kappel successfully filed a lawsuit against the new executive committee, but has not further interfered with the DP policies. The party has been investigated by the state's Offices for the Protection of the Constitution in

Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...

and

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

as possibly extreme right, with the conclusion made that contacts exist. A party convention in July 2007 elected Alfred Kuhlemann chairman and by resolution condemned the coup against Kappel. As of 2007, the party is no longer monitored by the intelligence service. The DP currently defines itself as a conservative party. It produces a monthly newspaper, the ''Deutschland-Post''. Some members have left to join the Republicans whilst co-operating with the far-right NPD.

Results

The party has concentrated its efforts to achieve seats in the

Landtag A ''Landtag'' (State Diet) is generally the legislative assembly or parliament of a federated state or other subnational self-governing entity in German-speaking nations. It is usually a unicameral assembly exercising legislative competence ...

e parliaments of

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...

and

Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...

, though to no avail. It currently has no representation at any major level, having only a small number of local seats in

References

{{reflist

External links

Party website
Conservative parties in Germany German nationalist political parties National conservative parties Nationalist parties in Germany Organisations based in Lower Saxony Political parties established in 1993 Right-wing populist parties 1993 establishments in Germany

History

Results

See also

References

External links