The Party That Came Out of the Cold War: The Party of Democratic Socialism in United Germany

Editorial Reviews. Review. "[T]he book successfully argues how and where the PDS has The Party That Came Out of the Cold War: The Party of Democratic Socialism in United Germany In fact, Oswald argues, the PDS is East Germany's contribution to the regionalized pluralism of united Germany's party system.
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The Party That Came Out of the Cold War

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The Party of Democratic Socialism in United Germany

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Party of Democratic Socialism (Germany) - Wikipedia

Do you believe that this item violates a copyright? Amazon Music Stream millions of songs. By the time of a special party conference on 16 December , it was obvious that the SED was no longer a Marxist-Leninist party. During the second session the party accepted a proposal from Gysi, who had become party chairman earlier in the month, that the party adopt a new name, "Party of Democratic Socialism.

The proposal came directly after a speech from Michael Schumann highlighting the injustices perpetrated under the SED, and distancing the conference from certain high-profile party leaders - notably Honecker and the country's last Communist leader, Egon Krenz. Above all Schumann's speech opened the way for the party to reinvent itself, using a phrase that was later much quoted: On 4 February , the party was formally renamed the PDS.

However, neo-Marxist and communist minority factions continued to exist.

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By the time the party had formally renamed itself the PDS, it had expelled most of the remaining prominent Communist-era leaders from its ranks—including Honecker and Krenz. This was not enough to save the party when it faced the voters for the first time in the East German elections —the first and only free elections held in East Germany.

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The party was roundly defeated, winning only 66 seats in the seat Volkskammer , finishing a distant third behind the East German wings of the Christian Democratic Union and the recently refounded Social Democratic Party. Political responsibility has burnished the Left's reputation as a pragmatic, rather than ideological party. It remained strong in local government in eastern Germany, with more than 6, town councillors and 64 elected mayors.

In the first all-German elections in , the PDS won only 2. However, a one-time exception to Germany's electoral law allowed eastern-based parties to qualify for representation if they won five percent of the vote in the former East Germany. As a result, the PDS entered the Bundestag with 17 deputies led by Gysi, one of Germany's most charismatic and articulate politicians.

However, it was only reckoned as a "group" within the Bundestag, and not a full-fledged parliamentary fraction. In the federal election , in spite of an anti-communist "Red Socks" campaign by the then-ruling Christian Democrats aimed at scaring off eastern voters, the PDS increased its vote to 4. More importantly, Gysi was reelected from his Berlin seat, and three other PDS members were elected from eastern districts.

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Under the German constitution , a party that wins at least three directly-elected seats is eligible for proportional representation , even if it falls short of the five percent threshold. This allowed it to re-enter the Bundestag with an enlarged caucus of 30 deputies. In the federal election , the party reached the high-water mark in its fortunes by tallying 5. The party's future seemed bright, but it suffered from a number of weaknesses, not the least of which was its dependence on Gysi, considered by supporters and critics alike as a super-star in German politics who stood in stark contrast to a colourless general membership.

Party of Democratic Socialism (Germany)

Gysi's resignation in after losing a policy debate with party leftists soon spelled trouble for the PDS. In the federal election , the party's vote sank back to 4. After the debacle, the PDS adopted a new programme and re-installed a respected moderate, long-time Gysi ally Lothar Bisky , as chair. A renewed sense of self-confidence soon re-energised the party. Its electoral base in the eastern German states continued to grow, where it ranked with the CDU and SPD one of the region's three strong parties. However, low membership and voter support in Germany's western states continued to plague the party on the federal level until it formed an electoral alliance in July with the Electoral Alternative for Labour and Social Justice WASG , a leftist faction of dissident Social Democrats and trade unionists, with the merged list being called the Left Party.

In the federal election the Left Party received 8. After marathon negotiations, the PDS and WASG agreed on terms for a combined ticket to compete in the federal election and pledged to unify into a single left-wing party in or According to the pact, the parties did not compete against each another in any district.


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