President Marc Spautz Youth wing Christian Social Youth | General Secretary Laurent Zeimet Ideology Christian democracy | |
Founded 1944; 73 years ago (1944) Headquarters 4 rue de l'Eau
Luxembourg | ||
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 ideology and, like most parties in Luxembourg, the CSV is strongly pro-European. The CSV is a member of the European People's Party (EPP) and the Centrist Democrat International (CDI).
Contents
- History
- Election results
- Presidents
- General Secretaries
- Presidents of Christian Social Peoples Party in the Chamber of Deputies
- References
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 President is Michel Wolter. 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 in Luxembourg.
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 a 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.
The party went into opposition for the first time in 1974, as 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, for the second time in its history the party went into opposition, 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.
Election results
Below are charts of the results that the Christian Social People's Party has secured in the Chamber of Deputies at each election. Timelines showing the number of seats and percentage of votes won are on the right.
Presidents
General Secretaries
Presidents of Christian Social People's Party in the Chamber of Deputies
+ Died in office