The Grays – Gray Panthers
The Grey - Grey Panther ( short name: GRAY ) was a German small party that existed from 1989 to 2008. It was founded by the then Member of Parliament Trude Unruh ( b. 1925 ), who had been previously served as party -less member of the Green Group in the Bundestag. Emerged the party was from the Trude Unruh founded in 1975 by Senior Protection Association. It saw itself primarily as representing the interests of seniors. Successor party, the Alliance Grey Panthers Germany, which has emerged from various factions.
Unruh, 2007 was National Chairman until September, her successor was Norbert Raeder, however resigned in January 2008. Achieved in 2006, the horror in the election in Berlin with 3.8%, the best result ever at a state election. A year later, the party found itself in a funding scandal, which resulted in a special party on March 1, 2008, the resolution process has been initiated. The subsequently carried out ballot ended on March 17, with an acknowledgment of such a decision of the Congress. Officially, the party is since March 29, 2008 resolved.
- 3.1 Federal and European elections
- 3.2 state elections
- 4.1 Cash flows
- 4.2 Net assets
- 4.3 corporate investments
- 4.4 properties
Content- profile and structure
The Grey understood himself as Generation Party. Their motto was " young and old together." They fought for the interests of young people and older people. They demanded a minimum pension from 65, which should be financed not from personal wages of dependent workers, but from income all taxable persons and societies, and should be paid from a self-managed, the state access confiscated funds, which would replace the current pension and unemployment funds are.
Other demands were the promotion of alternative energy sources and measures for the preservation of farms. The party also advocated for increased protection of the environment.
Likewise, should be created according to their will at the federal level, the opportunity to petition for a referendum and plebiscite.
It was reinforced attached importance that the horror against any political extremism. Since 2007 there have been for its own working group to the right, the operational reconnaissance work with lectures. On the national party in October 2007, the delegates had unanimously decided in the association " e colored instead of Brown V. " to become a member.
With Young and Gray ( short name: Jung), the party also had a youth organization which was founded on July 19, 1998 in Ludwigsburg. Member could there be, who was old 12-35 years.
History
Establishment and further development
The party was founded on 12 July 1989 as the political arm of the existing 1975 Senior Protection Federal Grey Panthers. As a short term was first elected " The Grey ". Founder of the party and the club was born in 1925 Trude Unruh from Wuppertal, which already was a party member, inter alia, in the SPD and FDP before and in 1987 as a non-party deputies became a member of the German Bundestag for the Green Party. They remained until 1990 in the Parliament. The Parliamentary Group of the Greens they had turned their backs due to internal and substantive differences. Due to the visibility of Trude Unruh the party establishment was considerable media attention. In the public eye, she was also the dominant person within the party; so she joined in the subsequent period regularly on talk shows.
On May 22, 1993, the party symbol was changed to "Grey ". Under the name of Young and Gray ( short name Jung) was founded a youth organization of the party on 19 July 1998. Membership was limited to children between 12 and 35 years of age.
2004 accused the horror also together with the Ecological- Democratic Party ( ödp ) before the Federal Constitutional Court adopted successfully against the law for the renewal of the party financing. This law, which would come into force on 1 January 2005, stipulated that only parties that competed in at least three states, and then received at least one percent of the vote, will enjoy the benefit of the election financing. The Federal Constitutional Court finally declared the law unconstitutional.
In the state elections in Saxony -Anhalt 2006 horror stood as candidates for the first time together on a list of union with the Animal Protection Party, the ödp and various groups of voters. This alliance achieved 0.8 % of the vote.
Stronghold Berlin
Since the mid- nineties, the horror in Berlin always arrive at the House of Representatives elections election results that were higher than one percent. Already achieved at the 2004 European election, the horror nationwide 1.2 % of the vote; in this election, the national association Berlin was able to unite 3.9% of the voters in Berlin itself. Thus they achieved the best result of a country other party in this election.
The House of Representatives elections in Berlin in 2006, where the horror "? Poppen for ' ne secure pension " campaigned among other things with the slogan, they had for the first time a realistic chance of a place in a parliament. They reached 3.8% of the vote and the most votes among all parties, who missed a place in the House of Representatives. Thus, they were still ahead of the NPD, the Republicans and the WASG. However, the horror managed in all eight district council elections at which they competed, the jump over the 3 - % threshold and thus a place in the district parliaments. The best result they achieved in the district Reinickendorf with 7.0 % of votes.
Trude Unruh joined a year later in September 2007 as National Chairman returned and was appointed honorary chairman of the party. Her successor was the Berlin state chairman Norbert Raeder, which has since led two offices into one.
Fraud of state funding of political parties and consequences
In the fall of 2007, the party found itself in a funding scandal; they had reported over the years by so-called "bogus seminars " non-existent donations from alleged seminar leaders on the Administration of the German Bundestag and received proportionate funds from the financing of political parties. At the public got this after suspicious party members had filed a complaint anonymously.
Beginning of October 2007 the party offices and private homes of leading members of the party had been searched. On 24 October 2007, finally, the board member Otto Wolf Hollow was remanded in custody for suspected fraud. On January 12, 2008 it was announced that the party is to repay 8.5 million euros of financial assistance within two months. 1.5 million have already been secured through seizures. The residual demand led to the insolvency of the party.
The party executive said on 23 January 2008 to convene a special party, which should decide on the dissolution of the party and took place on March 1. Raeder then joined in January 2008 after only four months from his position as national chairman back .. In a ballot, which ended on March 17, 2008, members of the party voted in the majority to resolution.
Election results
Bundestag and European elections
Bundestag elections
European elections
State elections
Finance and assets
Cash flows
The Party The Grey reported in 2005 revenue of about EUR 4.6 million. Of these donations were 3.4 million euros ( 72%) and government funding of 1.2 million euros (26%), the largest shares. Member contributions were only 52,000 euros ( 1.1%) and thus account for less share of total income than at any other party. During 2004, a slight deficit was generated, joined the party in 2005 with about € 850,000 profit from. These figures are caused by massive fraud. Real income without government subsidies scored the only party of about 100,000 euros. According to prosecutors, Wuppertal, donations was artificially driven up and wrongly collected money from the public financing of political parties.
Net assets
The net assets of the Grey (money and valuables against liabilities, loans, etc.) was at the time of its dissolution about one million euros.
Corporate investments
The Grey - Grey Panthers Asset Management Company Ltd. with 100 % of the shares
Property
The party had no real estate. The Investment Company had been provided for the purchase of a property in Wuppertal a loan of 370,000 euros.