To: thames_sider who wrote (8243 ) 3/13/2001 12:33:09 PM From: Neocon Read Replies (1) | Respond to This comports with my understanding of the role of Christian Democratic Parties in Europe:In the arena of party politics, conservatism in western Europe is generally represented by two or more parties, ranging from the liberal centre to the moderate and extreme right. Three types of party may be discerned: agrarian parties (particularly in Scandinavia), Christian democratic parties, and conservative parties linked strongly with big business interests and sometimes with a markedly nationalistic outlook. Such categories are very general and are not mutually exclusive. the Christian democratic tradition has the longest continuity, the predecessors of contemporary parties having emerged during the first half of the 19th century to represent supporters of the church and the monarchy against liberal elements. Especially after World War I, business interests became a third important element. The clerical interest is strongest in the Democrazia Cristiana (DC; the Christian Democrat Party) of Italy, which has dominated government since 1945. Through this party, Catholicism has set limits on policy concerning such church-related matters as divorce and contraception; in regard to other social questions, however, the party has never presented a coherent policy, largely because it comprises little more than an alliance of disparate and often conflicting interest groups. the church plays a far less significant role in the main conservative party, the Christlich-Demokratische Union (CDU; the Christian Democratic Union). After 1950, following debate within the party over economic and social questions, advocacy of a free-enterprise economy coupled with a strong commitment to maintain and improve social insurance and other welfare provisions became established policy. The conservative temper of the political climate in Germany since the beginning of economic recovery may be judged from the fact that since the early 1950s the main opposition party, the Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands (SPD; the Social Democrats), has progressively eliminated the socialist content of its program, a congress at Bad Godesberg (1959) in fact going so far as to champion the profit motive.the general pattern of the representation of moderate conservative opinion by a Christian democratic party; the closest equivalent has been the Catholic, right-wing Mouvement Républicain Populaire, which by the late 1960s had become little more than a political club. Instead, a large proportion of conservatives in France has supported Gaullist groups such as the Union pour la Défense de la République. Gaullist conservatism has been markedly nationalistic, involving assumptions concerning French leadership of a united Europe and emphasizing tradition, order, and the regeneration of France. Gaullists espouse divergent views on domestic social issues, however, as do non-Gaullist groups such as the Centre National des Indepéndants et Paysans. The number of conservative groups, their lack of stability, and their tendency to be identified with local issues defy simple categorization. Conservatism in France, however, as in Italy and Germany, has been the dominant political force since World War II. britannica.com
