# Ecological Democratic Party

The Ecological Democratic Party (German: Ökologisch-Demokratische Partei, ÖDP) is a green conservative and ecologist minor party in Germany. The ÖDP was founded in 1982.
The strongest level of voting support for the ÖDP is in Bavaria, where in federal state elections they have remained stable with 1.6-2% of the votes since 1990, and at municipal level have increased their mandate count in 2014 from 320 to around 380. The ÖDP is a member of the World Ecological Parties.

## History

The Ecological Democratic Party is a green party that is active throughout Germany and has its clear focus in Bavaria.
The party's rise is closely linked to its founder, the politician and environmentalist Herbert Gruhl. Gruhl was Member of the Bundestag from 1969 to 1980 and member of CDU. The founding of ÖDP dates back on the ecological movement in the 1970s. Gruhl gained attention by publishing a best-seller in 1975: "Ein Planet wird geplündert" (A Planet is Being Plundered). In the book he criticized the growth-oriented economy of industrial society. He also attacked nuclear energy policy and thus represented a clear minority position among Christian Democrats, while an intensive discussion was already developing in the SPD about a possible nuclear phase-out. Gruhl left the CDU in 1978 but stayed as non-partisan member of the Bundestag until 1980. He founded the "Grüne Aktion Zukunft" (GAZ), which later became part of The Greens. Gruhl lost the election for party chairman. Gruhl had a more conservative consistent life ethic ("Lebensschutzkonzeption"), which addresses besides environmentalism also the rejection of abortion, euthanasia and the death penalty. Also his policy was referred as ethno-centric. Gruhl left the Greens and, in 1982, founded the ÖDP.
Though a minor party – it has not gained seats in a state parliament or in the Bundestag – the ÖDP became notable for its involvement in the opposition to a Czech nuclear reactor in Temelín, across the border from Bavaria. It led an initiative for a popular referendum to abolish the Bavarian Senate (that state's upper house) which was successful.
It brought a lawsuit against a law in North Rhine-Westphalia which requires parties to receive 5% of the vote in order to take their seats in local councils, as well as a national law which reserves state financing only for parties that got more than one percent of the vote in at least three state elections; both laws were overturned.
In the 1983 federal election, the party received 0.03% of the national vote (11,028 votes in total).
In the 1984 European parliament elections, the party received 0.3% of the national vote (77,026 votes in total).
In the 1987 federal election, the party received 0.3% of the national vote (109,152 votes in total).
In the 1989 European parliament elections, the party received 0.7% of the national vote (184,309 votes in total).
In the 1990 federal election, the party received 0.4% of the national vote (205,206 votes in total), its best result in a federal election.
In the 1994 European parliament elections, the party received 0.8% of the national vote (273,776 votes in total).
In the 1994 federal election, the party received 0.4% of the national vote (183,715 votes in total).
In the 1998 federal election, the party received 0.2% of the national vote (98,257 votes in total).
In the 1999 European parliament elections, the party received 0.4% of the national vote (100,048 votes in total).
In the 2002 federal election, the party received 0.1% of the national vote (56,898 votes in total).
In the 2004 European parliament elections, the party received 0.6% of the national vote (145,537 votes in total).
The ÖDP did not participate in the 2005 federal election.
In the 2009 European parliament elections, the party received 0.5% of the national vote (134,893 votes in total).
In the 2009 federal election, the party received 0.3% of the national vote (132,249 votes in total).
In the 2013 federal election, the party received 0.3% of the national vote (127,088 votes in total).
In the 2014 European parliament elections, the party received 0.7% of the national vote (185,119 votes in total) and returned a single MEP. The MEP, Klaus Buchner, joined The Greens–European Free Alliance (Greens/EFA) parliamentary group.
In the 2017 federal election, the party received 0.3% of the national vote (144,809 votes in total).
In the 2019 European parliament elections, the party received 1.0% of the national vote (369,869 votes in total). Klaus Buchner was re-elected to the European Parliament, however he was replaced in July 2020 with Manuela Ripa.
In the 2021 federal election, the party received 0.2% of the national vote (112,131 votes in total). This was its poorest performance in a federal election since 2005, when it did not participate.
In the 2024 European parliament elections, the party received a decreased 0.7% of the national vote (257,968 votes in total). Manuela Ripa was re-elected to the European parliament.

## Ideology

In its peak in the 1990s, the political position of the party was unclear. However, most political scientists considered the party to be nominally right of centre. German political scientist Jürgen Wüst called the party centre-right in 1993, cited the party's ideological proximity to the Catholic philosopher Robert Spaemann. The party repositioned itself following the electoral collapse and loss of many members in early 2000s - the party lost two-thirds of its electorate in the 2002 German federal election, and did not participate in the 2005 German federal election at all. Afterwards, the party had undergone a "profound shift to the left". From 2005 onwards, the party is considered centre-left by German political scientists such as Heinz-Siegfried Strelow.
Some commentators have said that the party has moved over the years in a more liberal direction regarding some issues since the mid-2000s. In many issues it emphasizes, such as the environment and trade, it is similar to the Alliance '90/The Greens. It differs from them by being less supportive of immigration and restrictions on state powers in criminal justice issues, not focusing on gay and lesbian rights as part of its platform, and having a differing view of feminism.
It was one of the earliest supporters (since 1989) of a green tax shift, an idea which later gained broader support and has been partially implemented in Germany since the Social Democratic Party and The Greens were elected to form the Federal government in 1998.
The party is predominantly Catholic - according to a 2008 survey, 70% of the party was composed of Catholics. A majority (55%) of the party members attend religious services at least monthly, which is higher than in Christian confessional parties like the CDU and CSU. The ÖDP is influenced by Catholicism in many of its programmatic stances - it strongly opposes restricting the right to asylum, harsher criminal punishment, and abortion. Additionally, the ÖDP strongly support an extension of the German welfare state and a complete nuclear phase-out. According to Uwe Kranenpohl, the ÖDP's opposition to abortion is even stronger than in CDU/CSU; Kranenpohl writes:
   The attitudes towards the abortion issue are particularly noteworthy: unsurprisingly, the differences between the members of the ÖDP and the Greens are greatest here - the former reject liberalisation to the same extent as the latter support it - but a third of CDU and CSU members are also in favour of less strict regulation of this issue, which also reveals clear differences with the ÖDP. [...] In terms of their denominational structure and church affiliation, the ÖDP is similar to the members of the CDU/CSU party, but draw different conclusions from their Christian orientation and consistently and to a large extent consensually represent the concept of comprehensive protection of life: these core points of the party programme therefore reflect the political convictions of the members very well and are able to act as a bracket for the ‘Christian Greens’.
The party is said to follow Christian values, and the German political scientist Oliver Geden described the party as "left-Catholic". It is also said to be morally conservative. Following the Catholic social teaching, a central principle of the party's program is "respect for life", which is considered "sacred in all its forms". This results in demands for the protection of nature and the environment and a fundamental scepticism towards "artificial" interventions in nature. In this, the party includes abortion, euthanasia and medical interventions to prolong life. To this end, the party opposes abortion, euthanasia and death penalty.
The party's focus in environmentalism, which is often combined with moral conservatism - for example, its 2009 "for real non-smoking protection" campaign that attracted national attention condemned smoking on both environmental and moral grounds. The party proposes more restrictions and harsher persecution of violence and pornography in the media.
Economically, the party is left-wing and committed to degrowth. It focuses on sustainable economics, and calls for Germany to have 100% of its energy from renewable sources, a comprehensive "mobility transition" that would reduce car traffic by at least 50%, a publicly-owned national water supply, and an introduction of universal basic income for parents to cover the material costs of children. The ÖDP also calls for the immediate shutdown of nuclear power plants, appropriate housing of animals in agriculture, efforts to reduce meat consumption and the ecological restructuring of agriculture.

## Controversy

On 17 December 2014, a member of the Memmingen/Unterallgäu chapter of the ÖDP said at a meeting, that the proposed gender mainstreaming law was a "state license to corrupt children" and would give LGBT individuals "too much influence over a passive majority", and that LGBT individuals should not be allowed to marry. Party secretary Pablo Ziller said that the party's federal board was "disappointed" at the remarks and that the statements did not represent the party's position. According to Ziller, the party believes in extending marriage rights to same-sex couples.

## Leaders

The current leader of the party is Charlotte Schmid. She succeeded Christian Rechholz in October 2022.

## Election results
### Federal parliament (Bundestag)

| Election year | # of constituency votes | % | +/- | # of party list votes | % | +/- | # of overall seats won | +/- |
| 1983 | 3,341 | 0.0 | New | 11,028 | 0.0 | New | 0 / 520 | |
| 1987 | 40,765 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 109,152 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0 / 519 | |
| 1990 | 243,469 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 205,206 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0 / 662 | |
| 1994 | 200,138 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 183,715 | 0.4 | | 0 / 672 | |
| 1998 | 145,308 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 98,257 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0 / 669 | |
| 2002 | 56,593 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 56,898 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0 / 603 | |
| 2005 | did not participate | did not participate | did not participate | did not participate | did not participate | did not participate | did not participate | did not participate |
| 2009 | 105,653 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 132,249 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0 / 622 | |
| 2013 | 128,209 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 127,088 | 0.3 | | 0 / 631 | |
| 2017 | 166,228 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 144,809 | 0.3 | | 0 / 709 | |
| 2021 | 152,886 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 112,351 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0 / 736 | |
| 2025 | 54,641 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 49,730 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0 / 630 | |

### European Parliament

| Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | EP Group |
| 1984 | 77,026 | 0.31 (#10) | 0 / 81 | New | – |
| 1989 | 184,309 | 0.65 (#8) | 0 / 81 | 0 | – |
| 1994 | 273,776 | 0.77 (#10) | 0 / 99 | 0 | – |
| 1999 | 100,048 | 0.37 (#12) | 0 / 99 | 0 | – |
| 2004 | 145,537 | 0.56 (#12) | 0 / 99 | 0 | – |
| 2009 | 134,893 | 0.51 (#13) | 0 / 99 | 0 | – |
| 2014 | 185,244 | 0.63 (#13) | 1 / 96 | 1 | G/EFA |
| 2019 | 370,006 | 0.99 (#11) | 1 / 96 | 0 | G/EFA |
| 2024 | 257,968 | 0.65 (#13) | 1 / 96 | 0 | EPP |

### State parliaments (Landtags)

The following table shows the results of the most recent state elections the party contested:
| State parliament | Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | Status |
| Baden-Württemberg | 2021 | 37,819 | 0.8 (#12) | 0 / 154 | 0 | No seats |
| Bavaria | 2018 | 211,951 | 1.6 (#9) | 0 / 205 | 0 | No seats |
| Berlin | 2023 | 1,682 | 0.1 (#23) | 0 / 147 | 0 | No seats |
| Brandenburg | 2019 | 7,237 | 0.6 (#10) | 0 / 88 | New | No seats |
| Bremen | 2023 | 5,488 | 0.4 (#12) | 0 / 87 | New | No seats |
| Hamburg | 2020 | 27,617 | 0.7 (#9) | 0 / 123 | 0 | No seats |
| Hesse | 2018 | 7,539 | 0.3 (#11) | 0 / 137 | 0 | No seats |
| Lower Saxony | 2022 | 526 | 0.0 (#18) | 0 / 137 | 0 | No seats |
| Mecklenburg-Vorpommern | 2021 | 936 | 0.1 (#19) | 0 / 79 | New | No seats |
| North Rhine-Westphalia | 2022 | 9,664 | 0.1 (#15) | 0 / 195 | 0 | No seats |
| Rhineland-Palatinate | 2021 | 13,406 | 0.7 (#12) | 0 / 101 | 0 | No seats |
| Saarland | 2022 | 613 | 0.1 (#15) | 0 / 51 | New | No seats |
| Saxony | 2019 | 6,000 | 0.3 (#14) | 0 / 119 | 0 | No seats |
| Saxony-Anhalt | 2021 | 1,062 | 0.1 (#20) | 0 / 97 | New | No seats |
| Thuringia | 2019 | 4,833 | 0.4 (#12) | 0 / 90 | 0 | No seats |
* ↑ Joint list with the Family Party of Germany.