Christian Social People's Party
Chrëschtlech-Sozial Vollekspartei
AbbreviationCSV
PCS
PresidentElisabeth Margue
General SecretaryChristophe Hansen
Founded1944 (1944)
Preceded byParty of the Right
Headquarters4 rue de l'Eau
Luxembourg
Youth wingChristian Social Youth
IdeologyChristian democracy[1][2]
Conservatism[3][4][5]
Pro-Europeanism[6]
Political positionCentre[6][7] to centre-right[8][9][10][11][12]
Regional affiliationChristian Group[13]
European affiliationEuropean People's Party
International affiliationCentrist Democrat International
European Parliament groupEuropean People's Party
Colours  Black
  Light blue
  Orange
  White
SloganKloer, no & gerecht. (Clear, close, and just.)
Chamber of Deputies
21 / 60
European Parliament
2 / 6
Local councils
192 / 722
Benelux Parliament
2 / 7
Website
www.csv.lu

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][14] and conservative ideology and, like most parties in Luxembourg, is strongly pro-European.[6] 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 21 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 (2013–2023). It holds two of Luxembourg's six seats in the European Parliament, as it has for 14 of the 44 years for which MEPs have been directly elected.

The party's President has been Elisabeth Margue since April 2021. 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.[15]

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

Chamber of Deputies

Election Votes  % Elected seats Seats after +/– Government
1945 907,601 44.7 (#1)
25 / 51
 New Coalition
1948[lower-alpha 1] 386,972 36.3 (#1)
9 / 26
22 / 51
 Decrease 2 Coalition
1951[lower-alpha 1] 425,545 42.1 (#1)
12 / 26
21 / 52
 Decrease 1 Coalition
1954 1,003,406 45.2 (#1)
26 / 52
 Increase 5 Coalition
1959 896,840 38.9 (#1)
21 / 52
 Decrease 5 Coalition
1964 883,079 35.7 (#1)
22 / 56
 Increase 1 Coalition
1968 915,944 37.5 (#1)
21 / 56
 Decrease 1 Coalition
1974 836,990 29.9 (#1)
18 / 59
 Decrease 3 Opposition
1979 1,049,390 36.4 (#1)
24 / 59
 Increase 6 Coalition
1984 1,148,085 36.7 (#1)
25 / 64
 Increase 1 Coalition
1989 977,521 32.4 (#1)
22 / 60
 Decrease 3 Coalition
1994 887,651 30.3 (#1)
21 / 60
 Decrease 1 Coalition
1999 870,985 30.1 (#1)
19 / 60
 Decrease 2 Coalition
2004 1,103,825 36.1 (#1)
24 / 60
 Increase 5 Coalition
2009 1,129,368 38.0 (#1)
26 / 60
 Increase 2 Coalition
2013 1,103,636 33.7 (#1)
23 / 60
 Decrease 3 Opposition
2018 999,381 28.3 (#1)
21 / 60
 Decrease 2 Opposition
2023 1,099,427 29.2 (#1)
21 / 60
 Steady 0 Coalition
  1. 1 2 Partial election. Only half of the seats were up for renewal.

European Parliament

Election Votes  % Seats +/–
1979 352,296 36.1 (#1)
3 / 6
1984 345,586 34.9 (#1)
3 / 6
 Steady
1989 346,621 34.9 (#1)
3 / 6
 Steady
1994 319,462 31.5 (#1)
2 / 6
 Decrease 1
1999 321,021 31.7 (#1)
2 / 6
 Steady
2004 404,823 37.1 (#1)
3 / 6
 Increase 1
2009 353,094 31.4 (#1)
3 / 6
 Steady
2014 441,578 37.7 (#1)
3 / 6
 Steady
2019 264,665 21.1 (#2)
2 / 6
 Decrease 1

Party office-holders

Presidents

General Secretaries

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

+ Died in office

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Nordsieck, Wolfram (2018). "Luxembourg". Parties and Elections in Europe. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
  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.
  3. ↑ "EU elections 2019: Country-by-country full results". Euronews. 28 May 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2022. The liberal Democratic Party and the conservative Christian Social People's Party will both send two MEPs to the European Parliament having scored 21.44 and 21.1% respectively.
  4. ↑ Newton-Small, Jay (28 July 2016). "An Italian Politician Campaigns for Hillary Clinton in Philadelphia". Time (magazine). Retrieved 6 May 2022. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, who belongs to the conservative Christian Social People's Party, last week not-so-subtly said he's supporting "a female candidate" for president of the United States.
  5. ↑ Banea, Andra; David An, Fengwei; Steenland, Robert; Brăileanu, Simona (6 May 2019). "EU country briefing: Luxembourg". EURACTIV. Retrieved 6 May 2022. Over time, these parties have evolved and re-branded themselves as the social democratic Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP), the liberal Democratic Party (DP) and the conservative Christian Social People's Party (CSV).
  6. 1 2 3 Terry, Chris (6 May 2014). "Christian Social People's Party (CSV)". The Democratic Society.
  7. ↑ "All about the Lëtzebuerger Chrestlech Sozial Vollekspartei (CSV)". Luxembourg Times. 6 October 2013.
  8. ↑ Josep M. Colomer (2008). Comparative European Politics. Taylor & Francis. p. 221. ISBN 978-0-203-94609-1.
  9. ↑ "Social democrats gain in polls, Greens lose". Luxembourg Times. 4 December 2020. Retrieved 6 May 2022. Centre-right CSV is still the biggest party in the country, but keeps shrinking
  10. ↑ Huberty, Martine; Hennebert, Jean-Michel (9 October 2017). "Election results: focus on the capital". Delano. Retrieved 6 May 2022. The local elections showed an overall strengthening of the centre-right CSV in bigger towns across Luxembourg.
  11. ↑ Dallison, Paul (8 January 2014). "The highs and the lows". Politico. Retrieved 6 May 2022. Juncker's centre-right Christian Social People's party (CVSP) won 23 seats in the 60-strong parliament but a coalition of the liberal Democratic Party (DP), the centre-left LSAP and the Greens meant Juncker's days were numbered.
  12. ↑ Nisbet, Robert (6 June 2014). "Juncker A Wily Politician Who Enjoys The Game". Sky News. Retrieved 6 May 2022. Juncker Jr. studied law at university but never practiced, honing his political skills by joining the centre-right Christian Social People's Party which fast-tracked him to a deputy's position (similar to a British MP) when he was just 30.
  13. ↑ "Politieke fracties". Benelux Parliament (in Dutch). Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  14. ↑ Bale, Tim (2021). Riding the populist wave: Europe's mainstream right in crisis. Cristóbal Rovira Kaltwasser. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. p. 34. ISBN 978-1-009-00686-6. OCLC 1256593260.
  15. ↑ "Geschicht". CSV.lu. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  16. ↑ "François Biltgen". Service Information et Presse. 7 June 2006. Archived from the original on 9 July 2006. Retrieved 18 July 2006.
  17. ↑ "New leader for the CSV". Archived from the original on 26 May 2012. Retrieved 4 October 2010.
  18. ↑ "Perséinlechkeeten aus der CSV" (in Luxembourgish). Christian Social People's Party. Archived from the original on 26 January 2009. Retrieved 16 January 2009.
  19. ↑ "Martine Hansen". Chamber of Deputies of Luxembourg (in French). Retrieved 27 September 2020.

Further reading

  • Poirie, Philippe (2004). Steven Van Hecke; Emmanuel Gerard (eds.). At the Centre of the State: Christian Democracy in Luxembourg | Christian Democratic Parties in Europe Since the End of the Cold War. Leuven University Press. pp. 179–195. ISBN 90-5867-377-4.
  • Schaus, Émile (1974). Ursprung und Leistung einer Partei: Rechtspartei und Christlich-Soziale Volkspartei 1914-1974. Luxembourg : Sankt-Paulus-Druckerei.
  • Trausch, Gilbert, ed. (2008). CSV Spiegelbild eines Landes und seiner Politik? Geschichte der Christlich-Sozialen Volkspartei Luxemburgs im 20. Jahrhundert. Luxembourg: Éditions Saint-Paul.

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