From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The Republicans (Germany)
The Republicans (Germany)
The Republicans The Republicans are considered by many Germans to
Die Republikaner be far-right, but they do not see themselves that way. The
German Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz observed the
party from 1992 to 2006 and categorized it as "party with
partially extreme-right tendencies", however, since 2006
it stopped monitoring the REP, which is no longer men-
tioned in the yearly reports of the Verfassungsschutz.
The avowedly extreme-right party National Democratic
Party of Germany (NPD) and the far-right German Peo-
Leader Rolf Schlierer ple’s Union (DVU), both of which are more successful
Founded 26 November 1983 than the Republicans, have offered the Republicans a
chance to join their electoral alliance, but the REP leaders
Headquarters Munich, Bavaria refused any cooperation with any openly extreme-right
Ideology National conservatism parties. However, Kerstin Lorenz, a local leader of the
Right-wing populism REP sabotaged her own party’s registration for the Sax-
Social conservatism ony state elections, to the benefit of the NPD. For years
Cultural conservatism and especially under Dr Schlierer’s chairmanship, the
Euroskepticism
party lost far-right members to the DVU and NPD. The
Political position Right-wing strongholds for the Republicans also differ from those of
the more radical right-wing parties, with the former be-
International affiliation None
ing strongest in the relatively affluent South Germany
European affiliation None whilst the latter have had most success in the more eco-
European Parliament Group None nomically depressed Eastern Germany.
In the 2005 federal elections, the REP received 0.6
Official colours Blue[1] percent of the total votes cast nationally. Its strongest
Website showing was in the states of Rhineland-Palatinate and
Baden-Württemberg. In each of these states, the Republi-
http://www.rep.de
cans received 1.1 percent of the vote.[2]
Politics of Germany
Political parties
Elections References
[1] according to Dr Schlierer
REP)
The Republicans (German: Die Republikaner; REP is a na- [2] http://www16.dw-world.de/wahlgrafik/
tional conservative political party in Germany. The pri- index.php?lang=en
mary plank of the program is opposition to immigration.
The party tends to attract protest voters who think that
the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Christian Related works
Social Union of Bavaria (CSU) are not sufficiently conser- • Hans-Georg Betz: Politics of Resentment: Right-Wing
vative. It was founded in 1983 by former CSU members Radicalism in West Germany. In: Comparative Politics.
Franz Handlos and Ekkehard Voigt, and Franz Schönhu- Vol. 23, No. 1. (October, 1990) pp. 45-60. Betz argues
ber was at one time the party’s leader. It is currently led that parties like the Republikaner appeal to the
by medical doctor Rolf Schlierer. In the 1980s the Repub- "bottom third" of the "Zweidrittelgesellschaft" (2/3s
licans had several seats in the European Parliament as society), mixing intellectual nationalism with lower-
well as in the parliament of the German state of Baden- class populism. JSTOR Link
Württemberg. In Baden-Württemberg, the party has had • Hans-Georg Betz: The New Politics of Resentment:
seats until 2001. Currently they only attract between 1 Radical Right-Wing Populist Parties in Western Europe. In:
and 2 percent of the vote in Bavaria, and approximately Comparative Politics. Vol. 25, No. 4. (July, 1993)
3.5 percent in Baden-Württemberg, thus failing to reach pp. 413-427. Here, Betz explores the ways that
the 5 percent necessary to win seats in their parliaments. radical anti-system parties have attracted both
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The Republicans (Germany)
xenophobic populists and libertarian entrepreneurs,
in an alliance against the welfare state. JSTOR Link
External links
• Republicans web site (in German)
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Republicans_(Germany)"
Categories: Political parties established in 1983, Conservative parties in Germany, Right-wing populism
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