Die Grünen is a name given to the Green Party in Germany.  Their official name is Bündnis 90/Die Grünen.

The Green Party was founded in Germany in 1980, and merged with Bündnis 90 in 1993.  Between 1998 and 2005 they formed a coalition government with the SPD.

Many of their policies are connected with the environment, so that they often take on government departments associated with this area when they form local coalitions.

The following politicians belonged or belong to the party: Joschka Fischer, Jürgen Trittin and Claudia Roth.

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FDP stands for Freie Demokratische Partei, and is a liberal political party in Germany.

The FDP was founded at the end of 1948, and has played a part in many national and regional governments ever since – often as a minority coalition partner.

The following politicians belonged or belong to the party: Theodor Heuss, Walter Scheel, Hans-Dietrich Genscher and Giudo Westerwelle.

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SPD stands for Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands and is one of the main political parties in Germany.

It is the oldest party in the German parliament, having been founded in the 2nd half of the 19th Century.

The following politicians belonged or belong to the party: Willy Brandt, Gerhard Schröder, Kurt Beck, Franz Müntefering, Erich Ollenhauer and Helmut Schmidt.

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Throughout June German Words Explained will be looking at the political parties in Germany.

This week we start with the Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands (CDU) and the Christlich-Soziale Union in Bayern (CSU).

The CDU was founded shortly after the end of the Second World War in 1945.  The following politicians belonged or belong to the party: Konrad Adenauer, Ludwig Erhard, Helmut Kohl, Theo Waigel, Norbert Blüm and Angela Merkel.

The CSU was founded in at the beginning of 1946, and is the CDU partner in Bavaria.

To hear a simple explanation and a short discussion in German, listen to the podcast:

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