Statt Party

Instead, the party (own spelling: INSTEAD Party - THE INDEPENDENT, short name: INSTEAD Party) is a German small party. It was founded in 1993 as a constituency association and moved in the same year in Hamburg's citizenry. Through a cooperation with the SPD, she was involved in the Hamburg Senate. Your attempt to extend this electoral success to other states, European and national elections failed. As a result, the party of right-wing extremists has been infiltrated. In particular, at this stage the party was considered quite populist. Since 1997 missed re-entry in the Hamburg state parliament is meaningless parliamentary above the municipal level, a human and programmatic renewal of the party led by 2005 to a bourgeois-liberal realignment.

Substantive Profile

The word " instead ", also written as fictitious abbreviation " INSTEAD OF " is intended to express protest in the first place and same time show that she does not understand itself as a party. She stressed that her party program is free of ideologies.

It considers people's initiatives, petitions and referendums as necessary. In addition to their performances according to the number of deputies to be reduced in the parliaments and policy and management are strictly separated. The election campaign expenses to be reduced drastically in her eyes. Furthermore, incompatibility of Government office and parliamentary mandate should be fixed. In addition, it considers that the whip be abolished and leadership positions should be made " not according to party membership, but exclusively on professional competence."

History

Background: Controversy in the Hamburg CDU

The founding of the party instead preceded intra-party differences in the Hamburg state branch of the CDU. A group of Hamburg CDU members by Winfried Steffani, Karl Albrecht shaft Schneider, Leonhard Hoffmann and later founder of the party instead, Markus Wegner had repeatedly criticized the political culture and decision-making structures within the national association. In the center of this criticism focused primarily on the former state chairman Jürgen Echternach and Dirk Fischer, which accused the group auszukungeln the cast of electoral lists. Finally Over the nomination of candidates for the federal election in 1990 and the parliamentary election in 1991 it came to a confrontation between the party leadership and what became known as the " CDU rebels" group. Wegner filed against the federal election a complaint to the Federal Constitutional Court ( Bundesverfassungsgericht ) and against the state election a complaint at the Hamburg Constitutional Court ( HVerfG ) a. Wegner argued that the party leadership would have the delegates to the national party convention given no opportunity to discuss the composition of electoral lists but this presented only as a whole to the vote, which is contrary, in his view against the election laws. The HVerfG recognized in its judgment of 4 May 1993, this vote practice serious flaws, judged them to be serious violations of party democracy bid and declared the elections to the District Assemblies Altona, Eimsbuettel, Hamburg-Nord, Wandsbek and Hamburg-Mitte and the state election 1991 invalid and ordered new elections. The Hamburg Parliament then decided on 22 June 1993 almost unanimously their resolution.

Foundation in Hamburg (1993 )

80 days before the state election initiated Markus Wegner public establishment of the ballot initiative "Instead party - The Independent ". Right at this election on September 19, 1993 abolished the electoral association with 5.6% a place in the Hamburg Parliament. She went with the SPD coalition alliance like a ( co ), in which the Hamburg Senate belonged to two -partisan senators who were asked by the party instead. In the simultaneous Hamburg district elections, they also moved into several district assemblies.

For the party instead sat in the Hamburg Parliament:

• Georgsberg
• Christian Bölckow
• Gundi main Müller (fraction exit at the beginning of Term)
• Dieter Meier upper
• Achim Reichert
• Klaus Scheelhaase ( in June 1995 withdrawal from the group )
• Rotraut Meyer Verheyen (up to January 1997, and exit from the INSTEAD Party and Citizenship )
• Markus Wegner ( in June 1995 withdrawal from the group )
• Fabian of Borcke ( in January 1997 nachgerückt for Rotraut Meyer Verheyen )

Nationwide occurrence (1994 )

Even nationwide, it was - then as a party - active, remained outside of Hamburg but above the local level meaningless. Because at the first state election outside of Hamburg, which took place in Lower Saxony in 1994, it reached only 1.3 % ( at the same time was another group with the name was instead the party by the National Returning Officer approved) and received at all other state elections outside of Hamburg, at which they took, even worse results. So she reached in 1994 at the European elections just 0.5% in the general election in the same year even only 0.1%.

Outside of Hamburg, she reached at the local level, numerous mandates; up to 16 % of the vote could be won in some communities, cities and counties, especially in local elections in Schleswig -Holstein in the spring of 1994.

Further development and decline (1995-2004)

During the election period came to increasing discord between the functionaries, which reached its climax with the overthrow of the group leaders and former top candidates Markus Wegner in December 1994. Markus Wegner, who wanted to operate in his view, the originally agreed with Henning Voscherau cooperation with the SPD Hamburg not at any price of self-sacrifice the governor Party and its original goals of civic responsibility and more open democracy, came in the summer of 1995 as well as the deputy Klaus Scheelhaase Instead of the party out.

In 1997, she also failed in Hamburg with 3.8% at the five-percent hurdle was thus no longer represented in the citizenry and also different from all district assemblies from.

She is now even disappeared in Hamburg into irrelevance, mostly because it is clear that they in Hamburg despite a presumably financed by Juergen Hunke consuming and expensive election campaign only 0.4 % reached in 2001. Many former members and voters had migrated in this election, especially at that Schill party. In the state election of 2004, they did not start due to internal party squabbles and apparent lack of opportunities. Not least for this reason had Juergen Hunke, the former state chairman, prevented the planned voting in this election. His successor Lothar solver initially sought a mutually acceptable solution with the Federal Executive Board, which was chaired by the former NPD member Gerhard Sundmacher. As this was unsuccessful, it came in November 2004 in Gronau to a head, as the National Association Hamburg attempted to overthrow the untenable from his perspective Federal Executive. In return, against the state board of Hamburg a "party exclusion process " initiated, which could be neither statutory and still performed in accordance with the provisions of the Political Parties Act because of a lack of the tribunal. As a result, the only remaining large major national association of Hamburg Instead party broke up, the members went from almost complete.

Renewal ( since 2005)

After this great loss, the party makes current through a process of programmatic renewal. At the last party congress in October 2005 continued in the federal party of the liberal "wing" by. New national chairman is the hamburger and former Federal Treasurer Robert W. Hugo. The national association of Hamburg to be rebuilt again complete.

Although it has its strength more in the local political area, the INSTEAD party will increasingly turn to the policy of peace, she sees neglected by the established bourgeois parties. Another key point of the new federal board seems to be GG and the introduction of a new German constitution under Article 146.

As a party color of the former national chairman Gerhard Sundmacher announced in July 2005 with regard to the party logo blue. Whether it was to a party decision, is not known. Blue is considered by Sundmachers " the color of peace, hope and harmony, a friendly color. "

Wanted is now the forces with other small parties. Thus, a cooperation agreement with the Liberal Democrats ( LD) was closed, but aufkündigten this on their national convention in October 2006. At the state election in Saxony -Anhalt in 2006 for the first time instead of Party came to together on a state list with the offensive D and the DSU. The association list is called " alliance offensive for Saxony -Anhalt ".

Instead, the party heard since 2006, the "Alliance of Democratic parties and organizations " ( ADPO ) to. The reigning national board has been completely re-elected on 23 June 2007.

Representation in local councils

Instead, the party turned to the dissolution of the circle two district councils in the district of Merseburg cross- ford. 2007 the party instead of the newly founded Saalekreis (Saxony- Anhalt), to the district council election and received 7.5% of the votes, or four mandates. The candidate of the party instead of for the office of the District Administrator, Dr. Günther Scholz, received over 10 % of the vote. In the castle district (Saxony- Anhalt) joined the party in the 2007 election instead of a list of connection with a civil list, which sends a representative to the new council.

In the district of Unna in North Rhine -Westphalia, the party was represented from 2004 to 2009 with a district council. The City Council of victories they won in 2004 with 1.9 percent of the vote a mandate that they lost with 0.6 percent in 2009. It represents the City Council of Lunen since 2009 a city council member and also has municipal mandates in Merseburg Leuna.