Social Democratic Party of Germany

The Social Democratic Party has its origins in the General German Workers' Association, founded in 1863, and the Social Democratic Workers' Party, founded in 1869. The two groups merged in 1875 to create the Socialist Workers' Party of Germany (German: Sozialistische Arbeiterpartei Deutschlands). From 1878 to 1890, the Anti-Socialist Laws banned any group that aimed at spreading socialist principles, but the party still gained support in elections. In 1890, when the ban was lifted, the party adopted its current name. The SPD was the largest Marxist party in Europe and consistently the most popular party in German federal elections from 1890 onward, although it was surpassed by other parties in terms of seats won in the Reichstag due to the electoral system.

In the years leading up to World War I, the SPD remained radical in principle, but moderate in reality. According to Roger Eatwell and Anthony Wright, the SPD became a party of reform, with social democracy representing "a party that strives after the socialist transformation of society by the means of democratic and economic reforms". They emphasise this development as central to understanding 20th-century social democracy, of which the SPD was a major influence. In the 1912 federal election, the SPD won 34.8 per cent of votes and became the largest party in the Reichstag with 110 seats, although it was still excluded from government. Despite the Second International's agreement to oppose militarism, the SPD supported the German war effort and adopted a policy, known as Burgfriedenspolitik, of refraining from calling strikes or criticising the government. Internal opposition to the policy grew throughout the war. Anti-war members were expelled in 1916 and 1917, leading to the formation of the Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany (USPD).

The SPD played a key role in the German Revolution of 1918-1919. On 9 November 1918, leading SPD member Friedrich Ebert was designated chancellor and fellow Social Democrat Philipp Scheidemann, on his own authority, proclaimed Germany a republic. The SPD government introduced a large number of reforms in the following months, introducing various civil liberties and labor rights. However, they used military force against communist and socialist revolutionary groups, leading to a permanent split between the SPD and the USPD, as well as the Spartacist League which would go on to form the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) and integrate a majority of USPD members as well. The SPD was the largest party during the first 13 years of the new Weimar Republic. It decisively won the 1919 federal election with 37.9 per cent of votes, and Ebert became the first president in February. The position of chancellor was held by Social Democrats until the 1920 federal election, when the SPD lost a substantial portion of its support, falling to 22 per cent of votes. After this, the SPD yielded the chancellery to other parties, although it remained part of the government until 1924. Ebert died in 1925 and was succeeded by conservative Paul von Hindenburg. After making gains in the 1928 federal election, the SPD's Hermann Müller became chancellor.

As Germany was struck hard by the Great Depression, and unable to negotiate an effective response to the crisis, Müller resigned in 1930. The SPD was sidelined as the Nazi Party gained popularity and conservatives dominated the government, assisted by Hindenburg's frequent use of emergency powers. The Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold, the SPD's paramilitary wing, was frequently involved in violent confrontations with the Nazi Sturmabteilung. The Nazis overtook the SPD as the largest party in July 1932 and Adolf Hitler was appointed chancellor in January 1933. Of the parties present in the Reichstag during the passage of the Enabling Act of 1933, the SPD was the only one to vote against; most of the communist deputies had been arrested ahead of the vote. The SPD was banned in June. Many members were subsequently imprisoned and killed by the Nazi government while others fled the country. The party-in-exile was called Sopade.

After the end of World War II, the re-establishment of the SPD was permitted in the Western occupation zones in 1945. In the Soviet occupation zone, the SPD was forcibly merged with the KPD in 1946 to form the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED). The SED was the ruling party of East Germany until 1989. In West Germany, the SPD became one of two major parties, alongside the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). In the inaugural 1949 federal election, it placed second with 29.2 per cent of votes and led the opposition to the CDU government. In its 1959 Godesberg Program, the party dropped its commitment to Marxism and sought to appeal to middle class voters, becoming a big tent party of the centre-left.

Although strongly leftist, the SPD was willing to compromise. Only through its support did the governing CDU/CSU pass a denazification law that its coalition partner the Free Democratic Party (FDP) and the far-right German Party voted against. At the same time, the SPD opposed the pro-West integration of West Germany because they believed that made a re-unification of Germany impossible. Austria had become a sovereign neutral state in 1956, but a 1952 Soviet suggestion for Germany to form a neutral state was ignored by the CDU/CSU-FDP government. After 17 years in opposition, the SPD became the junior partner in a grand coalition with the CDU/CSU which lasted from 1966 to 1969. After the 1969 federal election, the SPD's Willy Brandt became chancellor in a coalition with the Free Democratic Party. His government sought to normalise relations with East Germany and the Eastern Bloc, a policy known as Ostpolitik. The party achieved its best ever result of 45.8 per cent in 1972, one of only three occasions in which it formed the largest Bundestag faction. After Brandt's resignation in 1974, his successor Helmut Schmidt served as chancellor until 1982, when the SPD returned to opposition.

During the Peaceful Revolution in East Germany, the East German SPD was refounded. It merged with the West German party in 1990, shortly before German reunification. The SPD returned to government under Gerhard Schröder after the 1998 federal election in a coalition with The Greens. This government was re-elected in 2002 but defeated in 2005. The SPD then became junior partner of a grand coalition with the CDU/CSU until 2009. After a term in opposition, they again served as junior partner to the CDU/CSU after the 2013 federal election. This arrangement was renewed after the 2017 federal election. SPD narrowly won against the CDU/CSU in the September 2021 federal election, becoming the biggest party in the federal parliament (Bundestag). Social Democrat Olaf Scholz became the new chancellor in December 2021, and formed a coalition government with the Green Party and the Free Democrats. In the 2024 European Parliament election, the party fell to third behind the far right AfD and the CDU/CSU. In December 2024, the traffic light coalition ended with the FDP leaving and Scholz losing a vote of confidence. The SPD entered the 2025 German federal election behind in the polls, and achieved its worst result in post-war history, with just 120 seats. The party placed third behind Alternative for Germany (AfD), with CDU leader Friedrich Merz projected to become Germany's next chancellor. In May 2025, Friedrich Merz, leader of the CDU, formed a coalition government between the CDU/CSU and the SPD (grand coalition). Co-leader of the SPD, Lars Klingbeil, became vice chancellor and finance minister of the new government.

The SPD was established as a Marxist party in 1875. It underwent a major shift in policies, reflected in the differences between the Heidelberg Program of 1925 which called for "the transformation of the capitalist system of private ownership of the means of production to social ownership" and the Godesberg Program of 1959 which aimed to broaden the party's voter base and to move its political position toward the political centre. After World War II, the SPD was re-formed in West Germany after being banned by the Nazi regime; in East Germany, it merged with the Communist Party of Germany to form the ruling Socialist Unity Party of Germany. Under the chairmanship of Kurt Schumacher, the SPD was a socialist party representing the interests of the working class and of trade unions. With the 1959 Godesberg Program, the party evolved from a socialist working-class party to a modern social democratic party. The SPD's Hamburg Programme, adopted in 2007, describes democratic socialism as "the vision of a free and fair society in solidarity", which requires "a structure in economy, state and society guaranteeing civil, political, social and economic basic rights for all people living a life without exploitation, suppression and violence, hence in social and human security", the realization of which is emphasized as a "permanent task". Social democracy serves as the "principle of our actions".

The party platform of the SPD espouses the goal of democratic socialism, which it envisions as a societal arrangement in which freedom and social justice are paramount. According to the party platform, political freedom, justice and social solidarity form the basis of social democracy.

• The coordinated social market economy should be strengthened and its output should be distributed fairly. The party sees that economic system as necessary in order to ensure the affluence of the entire population.
• The SPD also supports a welfare state.
• Concurrently, it supports rather austere fiscal policy, being against state-run deficits and for reducing debt.
• In social policy, the Social Democrats stand for civil and political rights in an open society.
• In foreign policy, European integration is a main priority. During Scholz's chancellorship, the party set out principles of a new German defence policy in the Zeitenwende speech.
• The SPD supports economic regulations to limit potential losses for banks and people. They support a common European economic and financial policy to prevent speculative bubbles as well as to foster environmentally sustainable growth.

Internal factions

The SPD is divided into three main political factions, often called party wings. In the 21st Bundestag, the majority of the SPD's parliamentary members belonged to the Seeheimer Kreis, the dominant faction that supports the moderate "Third Way" position, economic liberalism, and the market-friendly Agenda 2010 and Hartz reforms introduced under Chancellor Gerhard Schröder.

Positioned on the opposite side of the internal spectrum is the Parlamentarische Linke (PL), which represents the classical left wing of the party. This faction defends traditional Keynesian economic policies and a strong welfare state, arguing that reforms like Agenda 2010 have improperly curtailed social safety nets. Between the two factions is the reformist Netzwerk Berlin. It seeks to occupy a position between the traditional left and the Seeheimer Kreis. However, on many policy issues, Netzwerk Berlin is generally closer to the Seeheimer Kreis than to the PL. As a result, membership often overlaps, with some SPD politicians belonging to both Netzwerk Berlin and the Seeheimer Kreis.

International relations

The SPD sits with the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats group in the European Parliament. Previously, the SPD was a founding member of both the Second International and the Labour and Socialist International. The SPD was a founding member of the Socialist International, but the party left in 2013 after criticising its acceptance of parties they consider to be violating human rights. The SPD subsequently founded the Progressive Alliance and was joined by numerous other parties around the world. In 1984, the SPD initiated party dialogues with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), becoming the first international party relationship CCP established outside of other communist parties.

Social structure

Prior to World War II, as the main non-revolutionary left-wing party, the Social Democrats fared best among non-Catholic workers as well as intellectuals favouring social progressive causes and increased economic equality. Led by Kurt Schumacher after World War II, the SPD initially opposed both the social market economy and Konrad Adenauer's drive towards Western integration fiercely; after Schumacher's death, however, it accepted the social market economy and Germany's position in the Western alliance in order to appeal to a broader range of voters. It still remains associated with the economic causes of unionised employees and working class voters. In the 1990s, the left and moderate wings of the party drifted apart. This culminated in a secession of a significant number of party members which later joined the socialist party WASG; the party later merged into The Left (Die Linke).

Geographic distribution

Much of the SPD's current-day support comes from large cities, especially northern and western Germany and Berlin. As of 2019, 10 of the country's 15 biggest cities are led by SPD mayors. The metropolitan Ruhr Area, where coal mining and steel production were once the main industries, had provided a significant base for the SPD in the 20th century. In the city state of Bremen, the SPD has continuously governed since 1949.

In southern Germany, the SPD typically garners less support except in the largest cities, dropping to single digit % in the 2020s. At the 2026 Baden-Württemberg state elections, the party narrowly avoided losing its parliamentary mandate, as it received 5.5 % of the vote, with a five percent hurdle. At the 2009 federal election, the party lost its only constituency in the entire state of Bavaria (in Munich).

Small town and rural support comes especially from the traditionally Protestant areas of northern Germany and Brandenburg (with previous exceptions such as Western Pomerania where CDU leader Angela Merkel held her constituency, which the SPD gained in 2021 after she stepped down) and a number of university towns. A striking example of the general pattern is the traditionally Catholic Emsland, where the Social Democrats generally gain a low percentage of votes in Unterems and Mittelems, whereas in the Reformed Protestant region of East Frisia directly to the north, with its strong traditional streak of anti-Catholicism, Aurich, Emden is one of their strongest constituencies.

Further south, the SPD also enjoys solid support in northern Hesse, parts of Palatinate and the Saarland. The social democrats are weakest in the south-eastern states of Bavaria, Saxony and Thuringia, where the party's percentage of votes dropped to single-digit figures in the 2018 and 2019 elections. In 2021, it significantly increased its vote share in the states of the former east.

The federal leader is supported by six Deputy Leaders and the party executive. As of 2025, the leaders are Bärbel Bas and Lars Klingbeil. As Germany is a federal republic, each of Germany's states have their own SPD party at the state level.

State-level

The SPD, at times called SAPD, took part in general elections determining the composition of parliament. For elections up until 1933, the parliament was called the Reichstag, except for the one of 1919 which was called the National Assembly and since 1949 the parliament is called Bundestag. Note that changes in borders (1871, 1919, 1920, 1949, 1957 and 1990) varied the number of eligible voters whereas electoral laws also changed the ballot system (only constituencies until 1912, only party lists until 1949 and a mixed system thereafter), the suffrage (women vote since 1919; minimum active voting age was 25 till 1918, 20 till 1946, 21 till 1972 and 18 since), the number of seats (fixed or flexible) and the length of the legislative period (three or four years). The list begins after the SPD was formed in 1875, when labour parties unified to form the SPD (then SAPD, current name since 1890).

Imperial Germany (Reichstag)

Weimar Republic (Reichstag)

Federal parliament (Bundestag)

European Parliament

State parliaments (Länder)

Results timeline