German Political Parties EXPLAINED
With Germany's election just on the horizon, it's time for us to look at the political parties shaping the country's government! After 16 years of Angela Merkel at the helm, somebody else will become Germany's new chancellor! But what do they believe in? What does it mean to be a Conservative, a Green or a Socialist politician in Germany? Find out in this video!
#Politics #Germany #Europe#Socialism #Conservatives #Liberals #Labour #Greens #EuropeanUnion #Communism #Populism #Animation #ArminLaschet #OlafScholz #AnnalenaBaerbock
Time stamps:
00:00 Intro
00:50 SPD ("Labour")
02:00 CDU ("Conservatives")
03:16 FDP ("Liberals")
05:01 GREENS ("Greens")
06:53 LINKE I ("Socialists")
08:23 "Socialism" vs. "Social Democracy"
09:13 LINKE II ("Socialists")
10:09 AfD ("Far Right")
12:23 Outro
-----------------------------------
CREDITS:
All images were either hand-drawn or acquired via pixabay.com/de/service/terms/...
The hand-drawn ones were mostly made up by myself, however I did heavily base some characters on reference images:
- The "Social Christian" on J.J. McCullough's cartoon of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper (e.g. here jjmccullough.tumblr.com/post/... )
- The "Social Liberal" on J.J. McCullough's cartoon of British Prime Minister David Cameron ( www.flickr.com/photos/jjmccul... )
- The "Economic Liberal" on Reddit-user u/eggsandhamlet's drawings of the political compass quadrants ( / heres_some_art_of_the_... )
And lastly one that I can't find anymore. I based the SED-ball with the hat and the binoculars on a countryball of N&zi Germany. If you know the original artist, please tell me! I'd like to also credit them!
Sound effects acquired at www.zapsplat.com
Do check them out! They are a great source for quality sounds!
- Most sounds issued via "Zapsplat Standard License" (= no further attribution required)
- Except for the following, which were issued under License CC BY 4.0: creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Retro 8-bit game, hit 01 ( zapsplat.com/music/retro-8-bit-game-hit-01/ )
Retro 8-bit game, hit 02 ( zapsplat.com/music/retro-8-bit-game-hit-02/ )
Retro 8-bit game, collect point 01 ( zapsplat.com/music/retro-8-bit-game-collect-point-01/ )
Other songs used:
- German National Anthem -Deutsche Nationalhymne (Fingerstyle Guitar Cover by Enyedi Sándor)
• German National Anthem...
A beautiful rendition of our anthem. Thank you so much Mr Sándor, for allowing me to use your music!
- Oktoberfest Schunkler no copyright bavarian music, royalty free (gemafrei)
• Oktoberfest Schunkler ...
royalty free music by Giorgio Di Campo
freesoundmusic.eu
/ freesoundmusic
A great source for (almost) free music! Just what I needed!
...also, special thanks to J.J. McCullough. This video is a blatant rip-off of his usual style haha. So in case you liked this video, but don't know about J.J., do check out his channel! You'll love it. / jjmccullough
*Just so I don't get another million comments, asking where I've gone:* Yes I'm alive and yes I want to make another video! 🤗 In fact, the scripts and illustrations for *three* new videos have been finished, sitting on my computer for months now! But you know... life got in the way. It's been a stressful year and I didn't make the time for it. I hope you're all doing good. See you soon! 👋 *Update: April 23rd, 2023:* I'm currently filming the new one :) It's gonna be over one hour long! But with some serious work-load on the horizon this summer, I don't know when I'll end up finishing it. *Update: August 22nd, 2023:* About half of the video is edited. We're in the Endgame now.^^ *Update: April 12th, 2024:* Jeez, it's really been almost a year since I started filming, huh? 😂 Well it's nearly nearly finished. I'm desperately crawling towards the finish line. See you in a bit!
Your Videos (even If few) are really cool and awesome. I Hope you can make this full time in the future
really cool! would be interesting to also see some of the smaller and more extreme, or more specialised parties, like the Dritte Weg (hardcore rights) or the Bayernpartei (successor to the bavarian peoples party who are independists)
Can you try to explain turkish political parties? Quite a challenge.
@@erdem6393 @Schnitzel6852 I think I'm done with political parties for a while. My next videos will focus more on broader political culture, on food, movies and a bit of history. But not "The Political Parties of Country X".
Looking forward to seeing what you make! 🙏
One Fact about the CDU: The CDU has an minor Sister Party in Bavaria called CSU. If you want to vote for the CDU in Bavaria you have to vote for the CSU
He said at the end the CSU will get an own video.
Thats not quite right. The CSU is a Party, that only exist in Bavaria, the CDU exist in whole Gemany, exept of Bavaria. They are Sister Parties, but independent from each other. In State Level Bavaria the CSU Compete alone, in Federal Level both Parties join together to the CDU/CSU fraction, also named "Union" .
@@coccie sagte ich doch. 🤔
The CSU is the CDU of Bavaria that is more catholic lol
How to imagine the CSU Imagine the Republican Party forms the TRP (Texas Republican Party) which is literally the same with the difference being that they replace the RP in Texas
I wish America had more parties, I don't think we'd be so dysfunctional as a nation if there were more.
While the two current parties are in power, there's no incentive to make a real attempt at a 3rd party.
I agree, we don't really have that same us vs. them mentality that you all do and the party we vote for represents our believes a lot more closely. Biden and AOC would definitely not be in the same party here lol
@@shittymcrvids3119 The AOC/Biden thing really struck me. It's actually kind of amazing the Sanders even got into power when you think about it.
@@nomirrors3552 Definitely! I think different Democrats would fit into 5 out of 6 german parties, from the socialist to the conservative party.
Nah, american political system will fucked up like Indonesia
As a German, I've already known the information about the parties. However, I still watched the video, because I absolutely adore the cartoons. 😍
Very sweet :3 Danke
Same here (also why are we talking/writing in english???)
@@urutek8211 Non dobbiamo parlare inglese! Possiamo parlare anche in italiano! Mamma mia. Pizzeria. Tutto bene.
@@LucasBenderChannel También podemos escribir así. Pero yo prefiero el alemán :)
@@lukedzn5665 Ich auch
for any Brits who may be confused: - The SDP is like New Labour - The CDU is like the Tories - The FDP is like the Lib Dems - The Greens are like the Green Party - Die Linke is like Old Labour - AfD is like Reform UK
I would say that the CDU is more like the right wing of Labour while the AfD corresponds to UKIP (when it was led by Nigel Farage).
SDP -> Labour CDU -> Tories CSU -> DUP FDP -> LibDems Greens -> Green Party Die Linke -> the pro-Corbynite wing of Labour AfD -> Reform Party
As a Brit I would probably vote for Die Linke!
@@supfaathebestI would have honestly liked if the Linke was more voted for and not the FDP so the Ampel would not be a thing here, but beside from that you would not want a paty that openly sugestet to "shot all rich man" to have any power in your country besides from Notfall Situationen
Actually, these days the SPD has become a newer version of East Germany’s SED… complete with Stasi.
When the world needed him most, he returned
Gosh, I'd love to have the Avatar theme being played, whenever I enter a room.
@@LucasBenderChannel On it!
Fantastic video! What a clear guide! German politics doesn't seem so complicated now. Just in time to watch the election results!
Love your videos man! Thanks for recommending this chanel to me.
I'm so happy you liked it! 😍
Thanks for the recommendation, JJ!
Germany needs a cdu/afd coalition in the bundestag
@@fifteen_march last time sth. like that happend it ended in Ruins..
Note that it‘s „Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands“ = “socialist unity party of Germany“. Not to let anyone think “party“ would be some word beginning with “D“.
I don't get it uff xD
Social Democratic Dick?
@@Gisbert-12843 SED Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands Einheitspartei="unit party" (The only party)
@@kartonrad Not the only party, the "unity" party - the forced fusion of the KPD and SPD, the "worker's parties". They were in fact not the only party - East Germany had four other parties, the CDU (same as in video, though hijacked by the SED), the LDPD (basically a proto-FDP hijacked by the SED) the DBD (farmers party basically), and the NDPD (kinda sus org to put the non-irredeemable nazis in). The last two were established under SED supervision. Additionally, there were all kinds of mass organisations, trade unions, farmers' orgs, cultural associations, etc, with seats in parliament. In theory, the SED didn't even hold a majority in the East German parliament, the Volkskammer (House of the People). However, all three of these parties and all of these associations were essentially puppets of the SED, voting in lockstep with them on everything and being unable to express any real dissent other than through SED or government complaint channels. There were some rare moments of tolerated dissent, like CDU members voting against legalising abortion, but in general they remained puppets until 1989, when they quickly took the opportunity to break with the SED. The NDPD ended up largely fusing into the FDP, ditto the LDPD, the CDU into... well, the CDU, and the DBD also into the CDU.
Multiparty democracy is better: change my mind.
Yes, but the way voting works need to fit, soem voting systems are just bad overall and don't really work, but especially vbad woth many partys
Shocking: democracy is better than dictatorship 😱
americans be like
You wanna know what democracy looks? It looks like Biden falling on the stairs as BLM plans to fix racism with more racism and burn the country down
Well a democracy is supposed to be multiparty
I really enjoyed the little caricatures representing different party factions. If its your art you have a talent for drawing as well as political video making!
Thank you! I'm glad you liked them!^^
@@LucasBenderChannel yeah they were honestly really well done! If the rest of your content is of similar content/quality I will definitely be a regular viewer of this stuff. Great job!
@@LucasBenderChannel are they from polandball?
@@f3tsch906 at the very least, they give me polandball vibes.
@@f3tsch906 Polandball certainly made that kind of style popular. I think it's just really useful to illustrate ideas! Those blobs with two eyes are both very neutral looking and really versatile! So I like using them.
Lucas, this is the best comeback. You’re a star for people like me who are interested in politics :)
That is so sweet of you! 😍 And also completely ridiculous after the one tiny video I've made! 😂 But thank you so much :)
@@LucasBenderChannel There were two of them and so far they were great as well as very objective. Keep it up!
As a South American that just moved to Deutschland in order to work here, I can only say… Dankeschön, ihres Video ist sehr nützlich.
Bitteschön! :) I'm glad I could help! This video was made exactly for people like you! ¡Bienvenido! / Receber! 🤗
In which city did you move to?
Wilkommen in Deutschland! :3
Herzlich Willkommen :D
Usually it's the other way
A bit more context on Die Linke. Its worth pointing out that even before the wall fell, The SED had a "reformist" faction, inspired by the likes of Gorbachev, that was more open to things like democratic reform and freedom of movement. And after the Wall fell it was this faction that took over the remnants of the SED, changing it to PDS. Thats not to say that there are not members and leaders within the party with connections to the Stasi and other shady shit, but I think this helps explain part of why the PDS survived the end of the DDR. The other thing I want to bring up about Die Linke is it's technically a merger of two parties. The aforementioned PDS and a West Germam splinter party from the SPD called Labour and Social Justice-the Electoral Alternative. (Catchy name). This party was formed by left wingers angry about the third way reforms of the SPD leader and chancellor Gerhard Schröder. Labour and Social Justice-The Electoral Alternative, would go on to merge into the PDS, forming Die Linke. I know that you had limited time, and therefore couldn't include all this in your (very good!) Video, so I thought I'd mention these things in the comments. :)
Yeah, while I did like this video it did seem kind of biased against Die Linke. Making it sound like they're the "communist dictator" party. Not to mention there are many prominent members of the other parties like the CDU who were just as complacent with East German politics as the more iffy members of Die Linke. Maybe I'm just biased though because I kinda like them.
*Stasi not Stazi, because of Staatssicherheit, though I get why people would want to attach a z to dictatorial governments in germany ^^ (also thanks for clearing up that part of obscure leftist party history)
@@frocco7125 I just thought the dictatorship aspect would be more interesting to most foreigners, so I really leaned in on that. //Edit: Also I did film a bunch more stuff e.g. the merger with the WASG, and a lot more about the concrete plans and policy goals of each party. But the video would've turned into a 30+ minute documentary. 😅 I didn't want that and I always aimed for around 12 minutes. So there was a lot of stuff that ended up in the bin.
@@LucasBenderChannel The problem with the "dictatorship aspect is", that it's a common trope in German electoral debates, despite being a strawman.
@@LucasBenderChannel - While I agree that the dictatorship information is interesting, to get a correct picture of a situation, you should not leave such importent information out of the video, including information, that other parties - such as the eastern CDU were part of the Blockpartei and they took over many of the members from the eastern version, without questioning their past.
I liked that he spoke freely, showed many pictures and had very little text on his presentation🤓
Yes, I wanna say the same as Ana said before me... And that he asked us a question in the beginning... That was engaging... And... yes.
I agree with everything that has been said, I also think your presentation was good... but I would have liked it better if you had worn something green when talking about the green party. ... but overall, it was good.
@@junan6183 He was clearly going for a Habeck impression.😁
@@faultier1158 woah🤯 I never saw the grey Shirt that way. But now that you mention it...
@@Ana-pl9hs Hey! It's not grey! ... It's... it's olive. 👀🙊
You noted how the SED became the PDS completely left out how the PDS rebranded for a second time and became Die Linke. If I recall correctly the PDS actually cleaned up some of the SED baggage (or pretended to depending on who you ask) and then merged with a bunch of people from the left wing of the SPD who thought their old party had become too centrist.
They merged with the WASG which was founded in 2004 by former left leaning members of the SPD who left the party because of the massive changes to the welfare state by the government (led by Gerhard Schröder)
I take it the PDS is also where the violent ANTIFA thugs in Germany come from? how does that not hurt them politically? i get the entirety of Germany politics is would be counted as left-wing compared to most other western nations but you would think they would have some explaining to do?
I think it's implied they rebranded for a second time.
With this description of Die Linke I feel like I have to point out that East germany typically is where the party is the strongest, with Thuringia now being governed by Die Linke in its second term, with it being the strongest party over there. So yeah. The people of the east, especially the older generation that grew up under socialism, really like Die Linke. Many of its voters see it as the party that tries to bring all the good stuff from the GDR back, while having gotten rid off the dictatorial and oppressive aspects.
Also a lot of young people do!
@@corvus_kay6755 Not as much as the older generations. Young people tend to vote green party or FDP
@@angryyordle4640 i'm actually a young person lol most of my friends are leftists, in my school Die Linke has around 15 percent. I have friend who's school had them as their strongest party but i have yet to find a lot of old people voting left. This might be subjective though but in my experience old people are more likely conservative or right wing or both
@@corvus_kay6755 it is very subjective. Statistics show that FDP and Green Party are both at over 20% with young voters with the other parties lacking behind. The one party that is very unpopular with young voters is the CDU.
This really gives off a J.J. McCullough vibe, I love it!
That's what I said!! Really like it.
The art literally looks the same to me as well
@@psmonish8735 it's not "the same", just a similar style, and a great style at that!
@@smorcrux426 They look exactly the same to me and it's great!
Like JJ but no without the weird haircut and foreign accent.
You forgot to mention that the SPD also has a weird pro-russian streak.
True. It partially does.
Better than hosting the rellay station for drone strikes
Does that come out of a general hate and distate towards the US? Everyone knows the entire Russian government is totally corrupt and basically a dictatorship. But there goes Germany building a gas pipeline to them, pumping billions and billions of euros every year into Russia ...all whist having to pay for NATO to defend against Russia!! So you pay to protect yourself from a country, into which you pump all your energy money. How the hell does that make sense? What kind of a weird mindset do you have to be to end up in a political situation like that, thinking that's the way to go?
I mean if the German government loves Russia and the Russian people that much, the least they could do is just leave NATO. That way, they would show real SOLIDARITY with Russia. What's all this half-assedness? 'We like Russia so much that we give them all this money every year, but at the same time we have to protect ourselves from them or else they will kill us all!'. It's like the definition of the ultimate butt licker.
@@marioluigi9599 the german government doesn't really like russia, but the gas is cheap and the alternatives are Azerbaijan, which is basically a dynasty of the rulings family, the gulf states which are littaly absolutic kingdoms that fund Islamic fundamentalist groups or the US which ist far more expensive and the fracking process needend for that gas is a lot more harmful to the environment than the russian gas. Furthermore russia is dependent on german gas money and germany alone has a bigger military budget than Russia. So a military strike would be catastrophic for Russia and in Germany russia isn't really seen as a threat. This is very different to the states between russia and Germany they wanted to join eu and nato for the protection against russia.
I am a German. You could have said a looooot more stuff about all the major parties in the Bundestag (German parliament) in order to explain those policies to people who aren't familiar with German politics. The major political German parties contain a lot more than you have made it seem. However, you have given a great overview about all the major political parties in Germany and I would not have been able to do it better myself. Good job! By the way: your English is extraordinary.
Australia has a very similar party setup, with a couple of subtle differences, but much the same results. Thank you for a clear, concise and entertaining explanation.
But do we? The Labor and Liberal parties are similar to the SPD and the CDU, but that's about it. The Australian Greens are more left wing than the German Greens, although the Australian Greens recently had a faction fight and purged many of their overtly Marxist members. Then Australia has the National Party which represents farmers and people in small towns. It used to be called the Country Party which seems like a more sensible name to me. There used to be a centrist party, the Australian Democrats but they dissolved in a huge faction fight at the turn of the century. Australia doesn't have a political party representing the far left, the socialists and communists keep splintering into a hundred warring factions. Finally the far right can't get it together in Australia. We have the middle class religious right represented by people like Cory Bernardi, the working class far right One Nation party led by Pauline Hanson and the populist far right, (the wannabe Trumps) of Clive Palmer. If those three groups could ever get together, they would be a genuine threat, but they are too different to ever cooperate.
@@Dave_Sisson Similar does not mean identical. But two parties on the right, and two parties on the left, who usually work either in coalition or at least in partnership, along with other minor parties (lunatic right, sensible centre, splintered socialists) is more similar than when compared to the USA, Canada, France, Ireland, and even more similar than the UK or New Zealand. Yes, we have no vestiges from merging with a former communist dictatorship, (our communist party disintegrated early into the Cold War), and our ‘farmers’ party is more conservative than centrist (for the most part). But the long dominance of the Australian Liberal Party and the German CDU, despite the Labor Party/SDU being larger is an interesting comparison. Germany and Australia have very different, but strangely aligned ‘mirror-image’ histories and cultures. It’s interesting that our political systems have turned out to be so similar when compared to other nations that you’d think might be historically and culturally more alike.
Not at all. Australia is stuck in a strong 2 party system. Yes there are third parties, but they have almost no influence.
@@peterjerman7549 It could be argued that at various stages in Australian history, the National/Country Party, the Democratic Labor Party, the Australian Democrats, and the Greens have had a significant effect on government policy and legislation. Even if you discount the National/Country Party (despite going into coalition with Labor in Victoria early in its history), the DLP, Democrats and Greens have all had decisive effects on government policy - and not just blocking or allowing legislation. There have been several other small parties that have had the balance of power in the Senate (and occasionally in the House of Representatives) who have affected many individual pieces of legislation, apart from the four ‘big’ minor parties. Yes, like Germany, the UK, and many other countries, Australia has a basically left/right two-bloc system, but the smaller voices often have a powerful influence on government, and Australians tend to vote for smaller parties in the Senate, specifically to put a brake, or lend nuance to a government’s agenda.
@@noelleggett5368 Germany is much more different than the UK and Australia. Nowadays the Greens and FDP are equals in terms of power and all 4 parties have been in federal governments. Meanwhile most British political systems have 2 very dominant parties and third parties that rarely achieve a double digit number of seats. Rare exceptions are the SNP in the UK and the NDP in Canada.
Feels very JJ McCullough mixed with your previous style... I like it
agree
exactly, reminded me very much of JJ
JJ Mccollough is a moderate conservative, this guy seems to be the moderate socdem version of that. Perfectly balanced.
@@frocco7125 how is JJ moderate conservative? he is a progressive liberal IMO
@@PakBallandSami nah, read his columns in the Washington Post or watch his old Sun News stuff. He's definetly on the Conservative side of things :D And @Rocco Anders, I don't identify as a Social Democrat. ;)
*FOOTNOTES:* Hi! Hello! Welcome to the footnotes. *(¹)* Thanks for sticking around for over a year, since my first video dropped. *(²)* I'm afraid there are quite a few audio issues, that I couldn't resolve in time. Sorry. This was the first time I've ever tried filming myself for anything. *(³)* Yes, this video is very similar to my last one. But I'm hoping to approach a few different topics in the future. Some about politics, some about movies... :) *(⁴)* I cut so much out of this video! So if anything major is missing, it's definetly in the hours of footage that landed on the cutting room floor. (I love that expression) *(⁵)* Yes, this is a blatant ripoff of J.J. McCullough's style of editing! If you liked this video, do check out his channel as well! kzhead.info *(⁶)* I can't believe I have a yellow hoodie and a purple shirt in my closet, but not a single piece of clothing, that's even remotely green. Curious. *(⁷)* I should've included that Green voters are usually quite well-off and based mostly in urban areas. That might be the thing I regret cutting the most. Well... that and that I didn't label the AfD as linked with Putin's Russia. I made it seem as if only Die Linke had a problem with Kreml-influences. *(⁸)* While I did draw all the animated bits myself, I did use an unidentified reference for the first SED image - the one with the binoculars at 7:31 - and sadly, I don't have the original file anymore. So I can't credit the original artist... If you happen to know that style/ that particular image from a polandball artist - let me know! *(⁹)* I do not claim to be neutral or unbiased. I've seen that criticism a lot in the comments. But, that's not even the desired outcome here. Obviously, my perception of the AfD became very apparent in this video, as I think they are a dangerous bunch. But that's not a "hot take". None of what I said in here is. What I tried to do, was to accurately reflect the mainstream understanding of German politics. So, what you heard in this video is likely what you'd hear in mainstream newspapers, at introductory courses for German politics or when talking to a largely non-political citizen. So, while my video is not unbiased, it is the generally accepted view on our politics. That's kind of what I was aiming for. I wanted to make an entertaining and informative video, explaining the conventional wisdom on each of the parties. I did not sit there and measure how much time each party gets. I did not have a word count. I did not count how many jokes I made about each party... Some here expected me to do so, but no. *(¹⁰)* Yes, I plan on making more videos. Yes, they're going to take an awful amount of time again. Sorry, not sorry.
Support for Die Linke, SDP and the greens from India!! 🌹✊🏻✊🏼✊🏽✊🏾✊🏿
At least the mark was still money
einfach JJ McCullough für Deutschland
Loved the video! The year-long wait was worth it
Your style is very similar to that of J.J. McCullough, with a more professional and high quality feel. Even the title sounds like the title of a JJ video, apart from the word ‘German’.
Also the greens being pro environmentalism and anti nuclear energy is one of the funniest things ever and shoes how much people are misinformed about nuclear energy
You have a new election coming up in 2025. Can you cover it in your fun, easy-going way?
Thank you so much for this upload! I'm a New Zealander studying European and European Union studies, so seeing these sorts of videos leads me down wonderful rabbit holes. The quality of this video is amazing, and I really love your style. Hope to see more videos in the future : )
It's not only curious that you don't own anything green, but also that there are no plants in the background when you talked about the green party! Could have added some cacti :) Jokes aside, loved the video, great work!!
I’m like “oh I wonder what state he’s from” then the outro rolls lol
As a German I really hoped to get a video to explain German politics to my many American friends and I am truly thankful that you made such an accurate movie about the German parties. You made great mention about their history and their relationship with each other. The only little things that could I even call missing was how the PDS became Die Linke and that the AFD is a lot more popular in the east of Germany. (By mention that the greens are more popular in cities.)
Thanks! I hope your friends enjoy it! Yeah... I did mention all of that but the video became so long (especially the part about Die Linke). So I decided to cut it out. 😅 But you're right!
Your friends should also know, that the most right-wing traditional German party, the CSU, would be progressive - center in the US.
I think both Die Linke and the AFD are more popular in the east right? Because usually poverty tends to make you vote more "extreme"
@Shaker42 I meant the CSU of course. Americas political system is mono-culture right wing. Basically both major parties are the same soup in 2 pots. Most Democrats would be considered right wing conservative here. The Afd is an error of history, a result of the regular parties missing to reach 10 % of people. Their leader A. Weidel is a sad figure and she alone would be already reason enough to not vote for them.
@@krollpeter so you are ironically ignoring the AfD right? Because if not it would be stupid to call the CSU the most right wing party.
oh god, it's the best 1-video-channel ever and it's back
About to become a mediocre 2-video-channel, babyyyy! 🤘
Thanks for specifying the difference between socialism and social democracy, as a social democrat I really appreciate that.
Sure thing! :) I know that in a lot of countries the difference doesn't matter or the two terms are used interchangably. So I thought it was important to note, that in Germany, the two are seen as very different and not necessarily as natural allies. At least by your average citizen.
@@LucasBenderChannel In Canada we're more or less allies but I would probably not vote for a communist over say, a neoliberal. Great video!
You betrayed us 1918! =D
As another social-democrat, I agree!
As a Democratic Socialist, I can confirm
Okay, Problemé: You did mess up in your part about "Die Linke" a bit. It actually went down like this: 1. Iron curtain falls 2. Reunion of Germany/ SED is dissolved 3.The PDS is founded. Its basically consisting out of the people that used to run the SED. They are successful, since in the people in the East feel betrayed after Western Germany tor down all their facilities and stripped from all their former glory. 4. The Greens and the SPD get a majority. But they mess up (HartzIV). There starts this rivalry between Schroeder and La Fontaine and then the party splits in two and the WASG is founded. The SPD got stripped of its old rooted left wing. 5. WASG gets a lot of voters in the West, while the PDS gets a lot in the East, so they decide to team up and that way "Die Linke" is founded. 6. Ongoing conflict: This history explains a lot of what is going on today. The SPD didn't really take the hit well. The split kinda took the opportunity away from them to have a say about anything for the next 4 governmental periods. That's the era of Merkel and the Union. It was kinda like the CDU laughed at the SPD about their split until it happened to themselves. The AfD derived initially from former CDU members and is a protest party against the CDU in some ways. This is why these days everyone looks with fascination as the two biggest parties crash. They used to have 100 % of the votes between them. Now their combined votes barely get over 50% and both of them split up and can't access big amounts of votes, that used to be theirs.
This comment contains two mistakes. First the split between the SPD and the WASG is in many ways similar to the split between the SPD and the USPD in Weimar Germany, it even ended the same way with the SPD joining a coaltion with it's conservative opponent later, just to remain in power. The other mistake is the claim that the AfD Party was originally made of former CDU members and is a protest party against the CDU, when the truh is that the original AfD Party had most of it's members from the SPD and was a protest party against the European Union.
He's back! Another fantastic video, very well explained! Can't wait for the next one!
Wow, you clearly deserve more views AND subscribers! Perfectly simplified, always a tad bit of humour and very well paced. Kudos :D
I recognized that you wore different colors on your shirt whenever you talked about a different party. Nice little detail.
O-o-oh. That's the thing the Germans were arguing about in the bar when I was there.
Haha cool!
This is pretty good video! I like the partyballs, the caricature and the changing outfit for each explanation on the party it corresponds with
Your animations and work on making these vids is super appreciated . It's never easy to cover these kinds of topics and someone will always feel left out but you are clearly trying to be balanced about it and educating the public so well done you
That's very kind. Thank you!
@@LucasBenderChannel I have lost faith in Germany.
Great explainer video! I'm excited to see the content you'll be producing in the future. There's definitely a lack of continental european content on the platform. Subscribed 👌🏻
Lucas, I am completely and utterly in love with the way you presented German politics to me! I've been needing someone to break it down for me with a sense of humour and so clearly!
I really like all the little political caricatures you drew and gave all the parties. Good style.
Thanks^^
YES! FINALLY A NEW VIDEO! Edit: I’m wondering if you’re gonna touch on historical political parties as well as modern ones.
Spoilers 🙊
@@LucasBenderChannel Wait- you are gonna cover some history?
@@PatriotMapper Only a little bit, so don't get your hopes up. 😁
@@LucasBenderChannel Weimar Political Parties maybe confirmed
Wow, you only have *TWO* videos and you're already one of my favorites channels of social-politics. Thank you!!!
I don’t know if this is true, but I think The Left and Afd appear to be for those who think the SPD isn’t progressive enough and the CDU isn’t conservative enough respectively.
Maybe a little too oversimplified, but that's definetly not wrong! :)
@@LucasBenderChannel That is why I personally think that extremism of any kind regardless of ideology is almost never a good thing. That is what a I love and respect about German politics. Politicians would prefer to cooperate, even people that they might disagree with and not just shut them out.
What a coincidence I have just began studying German and today the day when I had my first lesson you put out your first video in a really long time which happens to be about Deutschland.
Only for you ;*
3:38 I like how you used Thomas Kemmerich there, hehe.
Fun fact: the only part of Berlin where the Greens consistently get a majority vote is Kreuzberg, thanks to its strong sense of counterculture which stems from how diverse in race and opinions it became after the Turkish migration waves and other events.
i feel like every party in Germany except for the greens can be tied back to a party from the weirmar republic
Yeah, definetly! And it's hardly surprising. It's not that often that a unique, brand new political ideology pops up.
Is the AfD tied back to the NSDAP?
@@Nicoder6884 they sound like an amalgamation of the DNVP and the NSDAP. But I’m not German
@@Nicoder6884 They sound more like DNVP, NSDAP was more of a personality cult around Hitler that took things a couple steps further.
@@leftistadvocate9718 With the difference that the AfD has a concept for direct democracy after the Swiss model. What he said about the AFD that it is anti-democratic was simply a lie.
THIS IS SUCH AN AMAZING VIDEO LIKE ACTUALLY WHAT MAN I COULD WATCH YEARS OF THAT!
THAT'S SO NICE! THANK YOU!
I literally subscribed yesterday so i could know when you came back only for you to come back today! Great to see you again and keep up the good work!
As a US citizen living in Germany, I found this video to be fascinating. There must apparently be an election coming up soon because there are political campaign posters all over Wiesbaden. I noticed SPD and CDU next to some of the names. Of course, my wife and I vote in the USA and don't participate in the political system of Germany. We're just guests here - but it's nice to at least gain a little bit of understanding about what makes this place tick.
I'm so happy to hear that! You're exactly the people I made this video for! 😊🧡 And no wonder campaign posters are popping up all over Wiesbaden - the state election in Hessen is on the horizon! On October 8th, the Hessians will elect a new state parliament. So far it seems, that people are mostly content with the current government and little will change. But who knows? A month is still a long time to go. ;) If you have any questions about German politics, do let me know! Maybe I'll tackle it in a future video.
@@LucasBenderChannel -- We are here under the "Status Of Forces Agreement" and are discouraged (almost prohibited) from participating in the German political system - as we vote at home anyway. October 8th seems so far away, but it's really not. You must be familiar with the area. Hessen is the state in which Wiesbaden is located (and it is apparently the capital because the rathaus is downtown). I assume that the CDU and the SDP are the major parties here. Somebody keeps putting German newspapers in our mailbox too that seem to be political in nature............but I can't read them. LOL!! We are just "auslanders" - so we don't really have a dog in this fight.
@@1VaDude How odd. 🙊 Discouraging people from learning seems very unhealthy, but I bet there are good reasons for it :) And yes, the CDU and the SPD are the biggest parties in Hesse. However, the state is currently governed by a coalition of CDU and the Greens. Traditionally those two parties really don't get along, but in Hesse they have made it work.
@LucasBenderChannel -- Oh, nobody is discouraging anybody from learning. It's just that it is inappropriate for us (as US citizens) from being directly involved in the German political system. Last year, there was a protest in Mainz and Americans were advised to stay away from it. I find the idea of having a dozen political parties kind of bizarre.....yet fascinating. I see nothing wrong with learning more about how it works over here, but it's not my fight. We pay taxes to our federal & state governments back home and we vote via absentee ballot. If we intended to seek German citizenship, of course, it would be different. Until we go home in 2025, we are but auslanders and guests of Deutschland. Let the chips fall where they may. I think the CDU is closer to our moderate Republicans and the SDP is like center-left Democrats. I am more of a conservative-Libertarian hybrid, so I don't have a party that really represents me in the USA.......but I still vote when I can. Thanks for your comment!
I love the fact that you changed the colour of your clothes for every party.
A very well-made video! As someone who studies political science, I really admired the detail you put into this video, while also keeping it simple for those who are new to German politics. Excited for the upcoming election!
What a very well constructed video with information that are easy and simple to navigate, good narrator plus a colorful lovely art style This video was a big overhaul from the previous one by alot in terms of quality, this channel has a wonderful opportunity to grow with such well crafted content and my optimism is high aswell :) 👍 I hope one day you can cover up French politics and make foreigners and the confused more aware of how the system in France operates Greeting from your French brothers 🇨🇵💙❤️🇩🇪
Thank you for the lovely comment! 😇 🇩🇪💜🇨🇵
Really like how the die linke ball holds the EU flag low and gets a Marx beard in contrast to the other balls.
Amazing! I hope you make more videos like this analysing German politics. I haven't seen many videos on the subject in English.
Please don't disappear again into the void I really like your videos just please don't go away please
What a great Video! I think this is the best video explaining the German political Parties yet and that in a not overcomplicated way.
Great video! I didn’t notice the subtle change of wardrobe to match the party color until you go the the FDP. Very clever!
Wow, this video is a piece of art. The work that went into just the first 5 second intro. Damn, can't wait for you to make more
Aw, that's so sweet! 🥺 Thank you! I can't wait to get back to it! :)
This video makes me think a lot about JJ McCullough (which is extremely good) :D
It's a blatant rip-off of J.J.'s style, yes 😉
@@LucasBenderChannel use the word 'inspired' to sound less bad 😂
Today, AfD is second in the Polls, and rising to overtake the CDU and possibly be the most popular by the next election.
yeah. They even have a chance to get an absolute majority in Saxony and Thuringia this year
@@ermin2248those backwater eastern states mean nothing and contribute nothing to germany
@@tobi2233 this mindset kinda is why they're voting AfD
Amazing video! The JJ influence is clear, but I still think your personal style shines through. I can't tell you how much I appreciate this! An instant subscription from me. I can't wait to see what you come up with next.
As a german i am stunned at how accurate you described everything in english. I obviously know everything already, but i was just curious at how an english youtuber would handle the topic.
Danke! Ich bin tatsächlich Deutscher, also musst du weiter nach dem englischen KZheadr suchen ;) Aber danke für das Kompliment!
@@LucasBenderChannel Aha. Dafür ist dein englischer Wortschatz wirklich beeindruckend. Habe deinen Kanal erst gerade gefunden, weshalb ich durch deine guten Sprachkenntnisse einfach mal an einen Briten oder einen Amerikaner dachte. Trotzdem Danke für dieses äußerst informative Video!
@@metro3932 Oh das freut mich! Haha 🥰😂
I love this. Looking forward to your 3rd video!
mmm...well this aged..., well, heh, with the AFD at 22%? :I
wow I figured this channel out today and loved it. new subscriber
JJ sent me, and I was not disappointed. The parties are very similar to the swedish parties, even though afd seems to have made the opposite journey of the swedish right wing populist party. Thanks for this video!
What was the journey of SD in Sweden?
@Baltasar Gutiérrez SD was founded by neonazis (and old nazis) in the 1988 and stayed open for neonon through out the 90s. In the middle of the 90s the guy that's now the leader joined the party. When he became the party leader in 2005 he started to "wash" the party of its brown roots, and in 2010 they got in to the parlament. The "wash" of the party continues to this day, there is this big discussion in Sweden right now if you really can trust that SD have changed? Or have they just changed their brown shirts with nice suits? This discussion led to a split of the right where the big conservative party want to collaborate with SD but the liberal Center was so against this idea that party decided to collaborate with the Social Democrats instead. TL;DR: SD went for being neonazis to begin a right wing poulist party.
@@baltasargutierrez5366 Obviously not saying that Afd is neonon though. They have just gone in the opposite direction, from being just conservative to a more dodgy party
That's good to hear.
Socialism, social democracy, and democratic socialism are 3 different notions though (even if socialism is supposed to be democratic socialism)
and within each of those categories are several different variations
This was an explanation how the German parties specifically work. Parties don't really work cleanly along the lines of political theory.
@@swanpride not when he talked about the first two, since at least one is not présent in german politics.
Democratic Socialism is Socialism , there is two main branches revolutionary and Democratic Socialism, historically Social democracy was Democratic Socialism but it split in to with the more moderate reform keeping the name Social democracy and the more radical still get rid of capitalism still through reform took on the name Democratic Socialism
All socialism is evil
He is back! Quite a nice video, I especially like the general graphical style. Anyways, see you all in a year I guess!
Can you give us an example for this "vicious antidemocratic tendency"? As far as I know the AfD advocats direct democracy based on the example of switzerland.
The AfD have literal Neo Nazis and Facists in their higher ranks. (Bernd Höcke, Fotze von Storch)
True, Nachtmahr! And if direct democracy is the the ultimate form of democratic participation for you, then that's a big plus in favor of the AfD. But the anti-democratic tendency that I described, is as much about tone as it is about action. In a democracy, you should treat your opponents as just that - opponents. Not enemies. The AfD mainly does the latter. At least so far. For instance, when talking about the Greens, AfD partisans regularly speak of banishing them from the country, or worse. They speak of other parties being evil, of lying all the time, of them as a plague. That's dehumanizing. As an upright democratic party, you should accept the others' position as valid, even if you disagree and dislike it. There's no one "real will of the people" as many AfD folks will often state. Instead, there are many different "wills" that should be part of our conversation. It's also well known that some AfD partisans have ties to antidemocratic extremist groups (which is why I only said "tendency). Some of the AfD MPs also smuggled people into parliament, to harrass government officials and other MPs. There's a lot that makes them stand apart and the AfD still has some way to go, before they'll be treated as a democratic party that you can work with. And a lot of that is not down to their values, but down to how they behave.
@@LucasBenderChannel I personally havnt heard of the AfD dehumanizing anyone but I will just trust you on this one. But then it still is a two sided if not a three sided problem since the government and their followers call germans racist rats, potatoes and cancer and sing songs about murdering people that vote for the AfD. Also saying that the other parties are evil and lying isnt just two sided but also not really that bad since they often simply are lying, if they want to force everyone to use their ideological language they should simply say so instead of lying that noone is getting forced and then still forcing everyone to do so. Also whats wrong with seeing other political parties as enemies? In the end most of the parties want Germany and germans to die while the AfD wants Germany to become strong and heatlhy so it pretty much is a life or death situation. When enemies invade your country you also dont want to see them as opponents or even allies because they simply arnt.
@@LucasBenderChannel A lot if not everything you've said also and even more implies to other parties, especially the greens. It goes so far as reverting legitimate elections just because a candidate (that wasn't even from the AfD) that was elected with the votes of the AfD. Even in matters where political opinions overlap do other parties vote against proposals of the AfD, not because they were bad proposals, but only because they came from the AfD. Furthermore, left parties openly support left extreme organizations, behave undemocratically and call themselves left extreme, often on social media. And there's a lot of it, like Timon Dzienus from the Green youth writing "of course we know fatherland love, we know it and despise it", Annka Esser from the Greens posting on Twitter a picture of herself with a sign where "#i am left extreme" is standing on it, interviews where prominent politicians like Robert Habeck from the Greens saying "There is no folk, therefore there is no betrayal against the folk" or "anal s*x for death of the folk" posted on Twitter by the Green youth, even the "anti-discriminatory" minister wrote "potatoe expert" on her bio. Everything left of the CDU is highly racist against their own folk, and even the parties left of the AfD are very green centric. Would the AfD even come close to such behaviour, they would have been long part of history. If the AfD is undemocratic, then at least call the entire German political system undemocratic, which many Germans agree on. I know you are biased on propaganda and knowledge you though was real, but I would revaluate your stand on German parties.
I love how the colour of his hoodie changes depending on the colour of the political party that he talks about.
taking a lot of inspiration from JJ i see! BTW, loved the vid! Loved how you represented the parties with little polandballs
I have an unpopular opinion: The AfD IS a mirror image of DieLINKE. Neither of the two has explicit plans to abolish democracy, BOTH consider anti democratic tendencies a peccadillo offense so long as it comes from their own side of the political spectrum. But once again, that’s just my opinion. The mainstream is more lenient, in my opinion too lenient, towards DieLINKE.
couldnt have said it better myself
Yeah, I can see that argument. As I said, jury is still out and I wonder how both parties will develop in the coming decade... Will Die Linke even make it into the Bundestag at the next election?
I forgot to apply to vote from the US. I'm so sad. I hate that I missed an election
Thanks. Really puts the recent election into context. And thanks for using the red-tailed hawk sound effect for the eagle. Classic sound design.
Right? 😂 I did try to use a bald eagle's screech, but they just don't work as well. Just like a lion's roar will never carry the same punch as a tiger's. Glad you liked the video! :)
One mayor benefit of a multiparty representative system is, that even smaller poltical movements can change the direction, the country is going. For example germany shifted more to enviromental politics, long time before the green party even participated in any government. Parties just can not ignore public opinions on mayor topics
this was the best thing I’ve watched in a long time. as a 14 year old who’s really (and I mean really) into history, politics and geography but could never exactly comprehend how political parties worked, this video explained it perfectly. I know it’s almost 2 years old, but I really needed to express my happiness. thank you, it helped me a lot!
I'm so glad you liked it! 🥰 And please be careful around the political Internet. You may not believe it now, but at 14, you're really susceptible to other opinions. Much more so than you will ever be in the future. So remember to evaluate everything you've heard carefully. :)
Your style of making videos is awesome, please please please make them more often.
That's very sweet. Thank you :) I'll try to make regular videos, starting next year.
Greece is also currently undergoing a switch from a system that essentially only had 2-3 parties to one that has many smaller ones. It used to be only the New Democratic party, the Socialist Movement party, and the Communist party. But now there are close to ten different parties, the New Democratic party is leading with around 35% of support, and the opposition is fractured into many parties that each take 5%-15% on their own. It will be interesting to see where this goes moving forward
Great video! Can't wait to see what you make next!
03:16 Curious fact: Here in Brazil, "FDP" is an abreviation for the word "Filho da Puta", which means "Son of a Bitch".
My French-speaking friends also always get a kick out of it for the same reasons. 😂
Honestly an accurate depiction of the party membership
If you are wondering why do you hear boss music in the background, don't worry, it's simply Volt making their entry
I love how confidence all Volt fans are 😂😂😂 You're gonna watch them getting crushed under the 5% threshold. :/
@@LucasBenderChannel a man can dream.
I really hope that you'll continue making videos! This one is just so good! I've already subscribed after 3 minutes of watching and turned on notifications after 10 minutes of watching!
That is really sweet (and specific). Thank you! 😄
@@LucasBenderChannel Well of course it's specific! I wanted to really tell you how good of a job you've done so you might feel more motivated to continue making videos! 🤓
@@FuruyaHaKokoniImasu haha it worked! ;)
@@LucasBenderChannel NICE!!!
great video man, awaiting your annual upload
Thanks! Me too 😅
2:08 "default power party" we have a term for that in Canada, the Liberals like to call themselves the "Natural Governing Party"
Yeah, that's the exact vibe.
I got a slight tinge of bias in this video but really it was the kind that helped to give an easier time negotiating the certain explanations you gave. Good video
I'd say that I have quite good knowledge in regards to German and European politics, but this video was still really great and informative. Are you planning on focusing future videos just on European politics or branching out to international affairs? I'd say a video about political parties in India or Japan would be quite an interesting topic
Tbh, I'll try NOT to focus on any political parties again anytime soon. I don't want to become a one-trick-pony. When I come back next year, I might wanna make both political and non-political videos to try and find my brand. And it's going to be whatever I like best. I'm not sure what that is going to be, but I'm excited to find out :)
i didn't know anything that resembled the sort of """american style""" libertarian-ism was a thing in Germany or really any European country,probably due to stereotypes i have about Europe's politics
It's not common. Here in Spain the Libertarian Party is sooo small and never been to Parliament. I don't have a problem with that as I'm a social-liberal, but libertarians in Spain have a hard time. They don't have options.
@@azanulbizar12 it not being common isnt what i thought,i thought it was basically an extinct idea by 99%,but in Germany,their closest equivalent,the FDP got about 10%,which is about the same as there are libertarians in the US,the FDP is probably ALOT more moderate,but it is quite interesting nonetheless.
@@konradsartorius8223 i know,although not completely interchangeable,they are relatively close,and ive learned to know what people mean when using these terms
The FDP is really tiny and seen as weirdly capitalist by most germans, but yeah, it definitely exists. We don't have this cultural "american dream" that exists in america, where everyone (supposedly) can become rich if they just put in more effort, so a party whose main driving force is capitalism is seen as that one weird party which caters almost exclusively to millionaires and business owners.
@@JRexRegis 10% is small,but not actually a much smaller percentage as it is in the US (though republicans that are practically libertarians probably make the number a bit higher),although the FDP is alot more to the left by US libertarian standards,but the general idea exists.
Hooray!!! I'm the United 'Merica guy btw
Howdy!
Just noticed he changed his clothes threw each party to match the colours
You know in Germany we say „Ehrenmann“. Stakes Video, immer sehr objektiv geblieben und alles anschaulich gestaltet.
Wow das freut mich! Danke! :D
naja objektiv würde ich jetzt nicht sagen aber jedem das seine
Great video, hope to see another one soon. Great work!
Thank you! I think I should be able to churn one out in the next couple of months. :)
Question : Are you planning on doing videos on other countries' parties aswell? Hungarian parties could be interesting topic for example
That could be interesting, you're right! But I don't think I wanna touch on party politics again anytime soon. I might come back to it in the future, but for now, I wanna try and make some other stuff.
@@LucasBenderChannel If you did it for some obscure countries where little info exists it would be nice! (For example Nepal which democratically elected a communist party, or Abkhazia which had elections last year but is very small and also unrecognised)
The German J.J. McCullough
I just came back to this video again and holy cow how did you get so many different translations. Kudos!
Automatic Google Translate, buddy 😉 We're living in the future! :D
I love your videos and your drawings too. Your art style reminds me of another political analyst youtuber J.J McCullough of Canada. Anyways good video👍
The last election showed us that Saxony is quite AfD orientated..
The AfD rides primarily on the waves of disappointment, which you can find most in Saxony and Thuringia. It is as Umberto Eco described: “One of the most typical features of the historical fascism was the appeal to a frustrated middle class, a class suffering from an economic crisis or feelings of political humiliation, and frightened by the pressure of lower social groups.” Things, that the eastern states feel the most.
i have yet to see the conservative portion of cdu
Thanks for providing a simplified view for those who came to Germany from different political background systems. Smart adding the animation.
This was really well made, thank you!