The Bavaria Party (german: Bayernpartei, BP) is an

autonomist Autonomism, also known as autonomist Marxism is an anti-capitalist left-wing political and social movement and theory. As a theoretical system, it first emerged in Italy in the 1960s from workerism (). Later, post-Marxist and anarchist tendenci ...

, regionalist and

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

in the state of

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. The party was founded in 1946, describes itself as patriotic Bavarian and advocates Bavarian independence within the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

. Together with the Christian Social Union (CSU), it can be seen as an heir to the

Bavarian People's Party The Bavarian People's Party (german: Bayerische Volkspartei; BVP) was the Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria ...

(BVP) which existed prior to the

Nazi takeover Adolf Hitler's rise to power began in the newly established Weimar Republic in September 1919 when Hitler joined the '' Deutsche Arbeiterpartei'' (DAP; German Workers' Party). He rose to a place of prominence in the early years of the party. Be ...

. The party is a member of the

European Free Alliance The European Free Alliance (EFA) is a European political party that consists of various regionalist, separatist and ethnic minority political parties in Europe. Member parties advocate either for full political independence and sovereignty, ...

History

The party had some successes at the polls in the late 1940s and 1950s: 20.9% of the votes in Bavaria in 1949 and 17 seats in the German

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Commons ...

and, in 1950, 17.9% and 39 seats in the Bavarian state parliament where in 1954 it formed a coalition with the Bavarian branches of the

Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the ...

(SPD) and the Free Democratic Party (FDP). This forced the Christian Social Union (CSU) out of power for three years. Later, mainly caused by the casino affair, which was influenced by the CSU and its general secretary

Friedrich Zimmermann Friedrich Zimmermann (18 July 1925 – 16 September 2012) was a German politician and a member of the Christian Social Union (CSU). From 1982 to 1989, he was the federal minister of interior. From 1989 to 1991 he held the position of federal min ...

, the Bavaria Party rapidly lost voters. It still exists but was last elected to the Bavarian state parliament in 1962. In the 2008 local elections however, the party won 50 seats (compared to 32 in 2002), mostly in

Upper Bavaria Upper Bavaria (german: Oberbayern, ; ) is one of the seven administrative districts of Bavaria, Germany. Geography Upper Bavaria is located in the southern portion of Bavaria, and is centered on the city of Munich, both state capital and seat o ...

, including one of the 80 seats in the City Council of

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

, the capital of Bavaria, after 42 years of absence there. The Bavaria Party won one seat in the District Parliament of Upper Bavaria.

Chairman

The current chairman of the party is Florian Weber from

Bad Aibling Bad Aibling () is a spa town and former district seat in Bavaria on the river Mangfall, located some southeast of Munich. It features a luxury health resort with a peat pulp bath and mineral spa. History Bad Aibling and its surroundings ...

Elections

In the 2018 elections for the Bavarian Parliament the BP reached 1.7% of the voters' share. In 2013 they had gained 2.1%, the best result for the Bavaria Party since 1966. After the elections of 2018, the Bavaria Party is represented in three administrative regions of Bavaria: *

: 2 seats (2013: 3) *

Lower Bavaria Lower Bavaria (german: Niederbayern, Bavarian: ''Niedabayern'') is one of the seven administrative regions of Bavaria, Germany, located in the east of the state. Geography Lower Bavaria is subdivided into two regions () – Landshut and Donau-W ...

: 1 seat (2013: 1) *

Swabia (Bavaria) Swabia (german: Schwaben, ) is one of the seven administrative regions of Bavaria, Germany. Governance The county of Swabia is located in southwest Bavaria. It was annexed by Bavaria in 1803, is part of the historic region of Swabia and was f ...

: 1 seat (2013: 1)

Election results

Results from 1946

Landtag of Bavaria

References

External links

* {{in lang, de Conservative parties in Germany Politics of Bavaria Catholic political parties 1946 establishments in Germany Political parties established in 1946 Separatism in Germany Secessionist organizations in Europe Regional parties in Germany Eurosceptic parties in Germany European Free Alliance Bavarian nationalism