Covid-19 and the Resurgence of the Christian Democrats: A Dark Tale of Germany’s Most Powerful Party

 

Part 1: Old Nazi Networks and Cold War Crooks

While voter support for Germany’s most powerful party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU),[1] had been crumbling in the course of the current legislation period (2017-2021), with the onset of the coronavirus crisis, the tables have turned importantly in favor of the party: Polls had dropped to under 30% at the end of January this year, but have risen in the wake of Covid-19 to almost 40%. It is too early to tell whether this trend will hold up until the 2021 general election but, assuming that it does, Germany will most likely have a CDU-led government in the forthcoming years—a good occasion to have a closer look at the origins, development and current structure of the party.

In hindsight after one million people have lost their jobs, over 10 million people having switched to part-time work, and a predicted slump of the economy of 6.8 percent in 2020, it seems odd that people would back a party known for being the henchman of capital’s interests.

This is particularly so after it became clear that the massive “rescue” package the German government took on (over 300 billion Euros so far) resembled more of a dinosaur feeding: Fossil-fuel industries, such as Germany’s over-boarding car industry, or flagship airlines, such as Lufthansa, benefitted from state aid to continue their business as usual. Companies are granted a major share of the aid funds, 200 billion euros, while in comparison, municipalities will receive a mere 57 billion.  (more...)

Covid-19 and the Resurgence of the Christian Democrats: A Dark Tale of Germany’s Most Powerful Party