Christian Social People's Party

Christian Social People's Party
Christian Social People's Party; Chrëschtlech-Sozial Vollekspartei
President	Frank Engel
General Secretary	Félix Eischen
Founded	1944;76 years ago
Preceded by	Party of the Right
Headquarters	4 rue de l'Eau; Luxembourg
Youth wing	Christian Social Youth
Ideology	Christian democracy [1] [2] ; Conservatism ; Pro-Europeanism [3]
Political position	Centre [3] [4] to centre-right [5]
European affiliation	European People's Party
International affiliation	Centrist Democrat International
European Parliament group	European People's Party
Colours	Orange, Grey
Chamber of Deputies	21 / 60
European Parliament	2 / 6
Local councils	209 / 600
Website
	www.csv.lu
	Politics of Luxembourg ; Political parties ; Elections ;

Last updated February 13, 2020

The Christian Social People's Party (Luxembourgish : Chrëschtlech Sozial Vollekspartei, French : Parti populaire chrétien-social, German : Christlich Soziale Volkspartei), abbreviated to CSV or PCS, is the largest political party in Luxembourg. The party follows a Christian-democratic ^[1]^[2] ideology and, like most parties in Luxembourg, is strongly pro-European.^[3] The CSV is a member of the European People's Party (EPP) and the Centrist Democrat International (CDI).

The CSV has been the largest party in the Chamber of Deputies since the party's formation, and currently holds 23 of 60 seats in the Chamber. Since the Second World War, every Prime Minister of Luxembourg has been a member of the CSV, with only two exceptions: Gaston Thorn (1974–1979), and Xavier Bettel (2013–). It holds three of Luxembourg's six seats in the European Parliament, as it has for 20 of the 30 years for which MEPs have been directly elected.

The party's President is since January 2019 Frank Engel. However, the leading figure from the party is the former Prime Minister, Jean-Claude Juncker, who previously governed in coalition with the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP) until the 2013 general election.

History

The earliest roots of the CSV date back to the foundation of the Party of the Right on 16 January 1914.

In 1944, the Party of the Right was officially transformed into the CSV. The first elections after the Second World War took place in 1945; the party won 25 out of 51 seats, missing an absolute majority by a single seat.

From 1945 to 1974, the party was in government and gave Luxembourg the following Prime Ministers: Pierre Dupong, Joseph Bech, Pierre Frieden, and Pierre Werner. Mostly in coalition with the Democratic Party (DP), it gave Luxembourg a certain economic and social stability.

In the 1950s, the party structure underwent a certain democratisation: the party's youth section (founded in 1953) and women's section received representation in the party's central organs.^[6]

The party went into opposition for the first time in 1974, when the Democratic Party's Gaston Thorn became Prime Minister in coalition with the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP). In 1979, the party returned to government after its victory in the 1979 general election; Pierre Werner became PM.

In 1984, Jacques Santer became PM. He remained as such until 1995, when Jean-Claude Juncker became PM, with Santer meanwhile taking up the post of President of the European Commission.

Following the 2013 general election, the party went into opposition for the second time in its history as the Democratic Party's Xavier Bettel became Prime Minister in coalition with the LSAP and The Greens, making it the first time in Luxembourg's history that a three-party coalition government had been formed. This also marked the first time that The Greens were part of a governmental coalition. Despite remaining the largest party, the result of the 2018 general election represented the lowest public support in the party's history.

Election results

Election	Votes	%	Elected seats	Seats after	+/–	Position	Government
1945	907,601	44.7	25 / 51		0	1st	Coalition
1948 ^{[lower-alpha 1]}	386,972	36.3	9 / 26	22 / 51	2	1st	Coalition
1951 ^{[lower-alpha 1]}	425,545	42.1	12 / 26	21 / 52	1	1st	Coalition
1954	1,003,406	45.2	26 / 52		5	1st	Coalition
1959	896,840	38.9	21 / 52		5	1st	Coalition
1964	883,079	35.7	22 / 56		1	1st	Coalition
1968	915,944	37.5	21 / 56		1	1st	Coalition
1974	836,990	29.9	18 / 59		3	1st	Opposition
1979	1,049,390	36.4	24 / 59		6	1st	Coalition
1984	1,148,085	36.7	25 / 64		1	1st	Coalition
1989	977,521	32.4	22 / 60		3	1st	Coalition
1994	887,651	30.3	21 / 60		1	1st	Coalition
1999	870,985	30.1	19 / 60		2	1st	Coalition
2004	1,103,825	36.1	24 / 60		5	1st	Coalition
2009	1,129,368	38.0	26 / 60		2	1st	Coalition
2013	1,103,636	33.7	23 / 60		3	1st	Opposition
2018	999,381	28.3	21 / 60		2	1st	Opposition

1 2 Partial election. Only half of the seats were up for renewal.

Party office-holders

Presidents

Émile Reuter (1945–1964)
Tony Biever (1964–1965)
Jean Dupong (1965–1972)
Nicolas Mosar (1972–1974)
Jacques Santer (1974–1982)
Jean Spautz (1982–1990)
Jean-Claude Juncker (1990–1995)
Erna Hennicot-Schoepges (1995–2003)
François Biltgen (2003–2009)^[7]
Michel Wolter (2009–2014)^[8]
Marc Spautz (2014–2019)
Frank Engel (2019–present day)

General Secretaries

Nicolas Hommel (1944–1946)
Lambert Schaus (1945–1952)
Pierre Grégoire (1952–1960)
Nicolas Mosar (1960–1972)
Jacques Santer (1972–1974)
Jean Weber (1974–1977)
Jean-Pierre Kraemer (1977–1984)
Willy Bourg (1984–1990)
Camille Dimmer (1990–1995)
Claude Wiseler (1995–2000)
Jean-Louis Schiltz (2000–2006)^[9]
Marco Schank (2006–2009)
Marc Spautz (2009–2012)
Laurent Zeimet (2012–2019)
Félix Eischen (2019–present)

Presidents of Christian Social People's Party in the Chamber of Deputies

Tony Biever (1959–1974)
Pierre Werner (1974–1979)
Nicolas Mosar (1979–1984)
François Colling (1984–1995)
Lucien Weiler (1996–2004)
Michel Wolter (2004–2009)
Jean-Louis Schiltz (2009–2011)
Lucien Thiel (2011)+
Marc Spautz (2011–2013)
Gilles Roth (2013)
Claude Wiseler (2014–2018)
Martine Hansen (2018–present)

+ Died in office

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References

1 2 Nordsieck, Wolfram (2018). "Luxembourg". Parties and Elections in Europe. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
1 2 Hans Slomp (2011). Europe, A Political Profile: An American Companion to European Politics. ABC-CLIO. p. 477. ISBN 978-0-313-39182-8 . Retrieved 13 July 2013.
1 2 3 Terry, Chris (6 May 2014). "Christian Social People's Party (CSV)". The Democratic Society.
↑ "All about the Lëtzebuerger Chrestlech Sozial Vollekspartei (CSV)". Luxembourg Times. 6 October 2013.
↑ Josep M. Colomer (24 July 2008). Comparative European Politics. Taylor & Francis. p. 221. ISBN 978-0-203-94609-1 . Retrieved 13 July 2013.
↑ "Geschicht". CSV.lu. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
↑ "François Biltgen". Service Information et Presse. 7 June 2006. Archived from the original on 9 July 2006. Retrieved 18 July 2006.
↑ New leader for the CSV
↑ "Perséinlechkeeten aus der CSV" (in Luxembourgish). Christian Social People's Party. Archived from the original on 26 January 2009. Retrieved 16 January 2009.

External links

Official website

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[Partial-7] 1 2 Partial election. Only half of the seats were up for renewal.

[Nordsieck-1] 1 2 Nordsieck, Wolfram (2018). "Luxembourg". Parties and Elections in Europe. Retrieved 10 April 2019.

[Slomp2011-2] 1 2 Hans Slomp (2011). Europe, A Political Profile: An American Companion to European Politics. ABC-CLIO. p. 477. ISBN 978-0-313-39182-8 . Retrieved 13 July 2013.

[demsoc-3] 1 2 3 Terry, Chris (6 May 2014). "Christian Social People's Party (CSV)". The Democratic Society.

[4] "All about the Lëtzebuerger Chrestlech Sozial Vollekspartei (CSV)". Luxembourg Times. 6 October 2013.

[Colomer2008-5] Josep M. Colomer (24 July 2008). Comparative European Politics. Taylor & Francis. p. 221. ISBN 978-0-203-94609-1 . Retrieved 13 July 2013.

[6] "Geschicht". CSV.lu. Retrieved 16 December 2015.

[8] "François Biltgen". Service Information et Presse. 7 June 2006. Archived from the original on 9 July 2006. Retrieved 18 July 2006.

[9] New leader for the CSV

[10] "Perséinlechkeeten aus der CSV" (in Luxembourgish). Christian Social People's Party. Archived from the original on 26 January 2009. Retrieved 16 January 2009.