German Minority (political party)
Encyclopedia
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
of the German minority in Poland
German minority in Poland
The registered German minority in Poland consists of 152,900 people, according to a 2002 census.The German language is used in certain areas in Opole Voivodeship , where most of the minority resides...
, in the mainly Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
part of Silesia
Silesia
Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
. It is the political arm of the Social-Cultural Association of Germans in Silesian Opole (Towarzystwo Społeczno-Kulturalne Niemców na Śląsku Opolskim) and Social-Cultural Association of Germans in Silesian Voivodeship (Towarzystwo Społeczno-Kulturalne Niemców Województwa Śląskiego).
Its popularity has been declining since its establishment in 1990.
Program
German Minority supports Polish integration with the European UnionEuropean Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
and the development of the region of Silesia
Silesia
Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
, and argues for laws supportive of minority groups (in particular, the German minority in Poland
German minority in Poland
The registered German minority in Poland consists of 152,900 people, according to a 2002 census.The German language is used in certain areas in Opole Voivodeship , where most of the minority resides...
). German Minority prefers to refer to itself as an electoral committee and non-partisan representatives of the local population, instead of a political party.
National elections
As a party of a national minority, it is not required to pass the election thresholdElection threshold
In party-list proportional representation systems, an election threshold is a clause that stipulates that a party must receive a minimum percentage of votes, either nationally or within a particular district, to obtain any seats in the parliament...
of 5% as standard political parties in Poland are.
National elections:
| election |
In 1993 there were two lists, one in the Opole Voivodeship
Opole Voivodeship
- Administrative division :Opole Voivodeship is divided into 12 counties : 1 city county and 11 land counties. These are further divided into 71 gminas.The counties are listed in the following table .- Economy :...
, one in the Katowice Voivodeship
Katowice Voivodeship
Katowice Voivodeship was a unit of administrative division and local government in Poland in the years 1975–1998, superseded by the Silesian Voivodeship...
. The Opole list also won one seat in the Senate.
At the 2007 Parliamentary elections
Polish parliamentary election, 2007
Early parliamentary elections for both houses of parliament were held in Poland on 21 October 2007 after the Sejm voted for its own dissolution on 7 September 2007. The election took place two years before the maximum tenure of four years, with the previous elections having been in September 2005...
the candidate list to the Sejm
Sejm
The Sejm is the lower house of the Polish parliament. The Sejm is made up of 460 deputies, or Poseł in Polish . It is elected by universal ballot and is presided over by a speaker called the Marshal of the Sejm ....
(Polish parliament) got 8.81% of the votes in Opole Voivodeship
Opole Voivodeship
- Administrative division :Opole Voivodeship is divided into 12 counties : 1 city county and 11 land counties. These are further divided into 71 gminas.The counties are listed in the following table .- Economy :...
, and only one seat in the Sejm
Sejm
The Sejm is the lower house of the Polish parliament. The Sejm is made up of 460 deputies, or Poseł in Polish . It is elected by universal ballot and is presided over by a speaker called the Marshal of the Sejm ....
, Ryszard Galla
Ryszard Galla
Ryszard Galla is a Polish politician. He was elected to Sejm on September 25, 2005 getting 9072 votes in the 21st Opole district, and as of the 2011 parliamentary election is the only Sejm member from the German Minority political party.-External links:* - includes declarations of interest,...
(8,193 votes). He had already won a seat in 2005
Polish parliamentary election, 2005
Parliamentary elections for both houses of the Parliament of Poland were held on September 25, 2005. Thirty million voters were eligible to vote for all 460 members of the lower house, the Assembly of the Republic of Poland , and all 100 members of the upper house, the Senate of the Republic of...
and had announced the rise from 2 to 3 seats as an electoral goal early in September, thanks to the personal votes of local mayors who were supposed to reinforce the list. The second former Sejm deputy, Henryk Kroll
Henryk Kroll
Henryk Kroll was a Polish politician, and the former leader of German minority in Poland. He was initially elected to Sejm in 1991. In the Polish parliamentary elections of September 25, 2005, he achieved 7852 votes in 21 Opole district, from "Mniejszość Niemiecka" list...
(7,897 votes), lost his seat and announced his resignation from the chairmanship of the Social-Cultural Association of Germans in Silesian Opole, whose delegates are due to elect a new president early 2008. The 3 candidate list for the Senate of Poland
Senate of Poland
The Senate is the upper house of the Polish parliament, the lower house being the 'Sejm'. The history of the Polish Senate is rich in tradition and stretches back over 500 years, it was one of the first constituent bodies of a bicameral parliament in Europe and existed without hiatus until the...
didn't succeed in winning a single seat. According to the bilingual weekly Schlesisches Wochenblatt
Schlesisches Wochenblatt
The Wochenblatt.pl - until january 2011 "Schlesisches Wochenblatt" - is a German newspaper published weekly in Opole, Poland, with a circulation of 6,500....
, votes won by the German Minority list could have benefited the Civic Platform
Civic Platform
Civic Platform , abbreviated to PO, is a centre-right, liberal conservative political party in Poland. It has been the major coalition partner in Poland's government since the 2007 general election, with party leader Donald Tusk as Prime Minister of Poland and Bronisław Komorowski as President...
(PO), for whom 6,000 to 8,000 ethnic Germans would have voted.
In 2011 the list got 8.76% of valid votes in the Opole constituency, and more than 20% in 3 powiat
Powiat
A powiat is the second-level unit of local government and administration in Poland, equivalent to a county, district or prefecture in other countries. The term powiat is most often translated into English as "county", although other terms are also sometimes used...
(Krapkowice County
Krapkowice County
Krapkowice County is a unit of territorial administration and local government in Opole Voivodeship, south-western Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its administrative seat and largest town is Krapkowice, which lies ...
, Opole County
Opole County
Opole County is a unit of territorial administration and local government in Opole Voivodeship, south-western Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its administrative seat is the city of Opole, although the city is not...
and Strzelce County
Strzelce County
Strzelce County is a unit of territorial administration and local government in Opole Voivodeship, south-western Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its administrative seat and largest town is Strzelce Opolskie, which...
) out of 12. Ryszard Galla
Ryszard Galla
Ryszard Galla is a Polish politician. He was elected to Sejm on September 25, 2005 getting 9072 votes in the 21st Opole district, and as of the 2011 parliamentary election is the only Sejm member from the German Minority political party.-External links:* - includes declarations of interest,...
was reelected as the sole MP from the German Minority with 11,794 personal votes.
Regional elections
Local elections to the Opole Regional AssemblyOpole Regional Assembly
The Opole Regional Assembly is the regional legislature of the voivodeship of Opole, Poland. It is a unicameral body consists of thirty councillors elected in free elections for a 4-year term...
:
| Year | Votes | % | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | ? | ? | 13 |
| 2002 Polish local elections, 2002 The 2002 Polish local elections were held in two parts. with its first round on October 27 and the second on November 10, 2002. All 16 provincial voivodeship sejmiks, 314 powiat county councils, 2,748 gmina municipal councils, and town and city mayors were up for election. The event was the first... |
54,385 | 18.61 | 7 |
| 2006 Polish local elections, 2006 The 2006 Polish local elections were held in two parts. with its first round on November 12 and the second on November 26, 2006. In the election's first round, voters chose 39,944 gmina councillors, 6,284 powiat councillors and 561 deputies to provincial voivodeship sejmiks... |
49,131 | 17.30 | 7 |
| 2010 Polish local elections, 2010 The 2010 Polish local elections were held in two parts, with its first round on November 21 and second on December 5. The first round included elections of deputies to provincial voivodeship sejmiks, as well for gmina and powiat councilors. The second round of elections were marked for mayors,... |
53,670 | 17.77 | 6 |