Almost all parties in Saxony have an increase in membership

The major parties in Saxony are entering the parliamentary election campaign with stronger personnel or the same level of membership. The CDU/CSU remains the largest party in the Free State with a constant 9,500 members. It is followed by the Left Party with around 7,086 women and men as well as the SPD (4,551) and the Greens (4,502), according to a survey by the German Press Agency.

The AfD had around 3,600 members at the beginning of the year, but says it still has more than 500 new applications up its sleeve. Only the FDP, which has not been represented in the Saxon state parliament since 2014, has seen a drop in membership within a year - from around 2,000 to 1,900.

BSW plans to expand its structures

The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) has around 80 members in Saxony one year after it was founded, but wants to expand its structures after the federal elections on February 23 in the Free State and accept many interested parties, as party and parliamentary group leader Sabine Zimmermann recently said.

"The number of members of the SPD Saxony has remained fairly constant for many years," said SPD state managing director Jens Wittig. Last year, the party was able to gain 448 new members in the course of the state elections with its lead candidate Petra Köpping. "Taking into account resignations and deceased party members, that's a gain of 104. That's something to be proud of."

"We have the most members in Leipzig and Dresden, with the other district associations following some way behind at a solid level. The SPD therefore has a stable foundation in Saxony. We will prove this once again in the federal election campaign. Our people are storm-tested," emphasized Wittig.

Left party gains around 1,000 members within a year

The Left party also reported growth in January. At the end of 2023, the number of members was 6,098, one year later it was 6,917. 169 new members were added in the first two weeks of January, it said. Now there are 7,086

The Greens grew from 3,602 (January 1, 2024) to 4,502 members within a year. "There was a significant increase in new members after the democracy demonstrations at the beginning of the year, as well as after the state elections and, above all, after Robert Habeck's announcement that he would be the lead candidate in the federal elections," said party spokesperson Uwe Richter.

The FDP draws optimism from the fact that 60 percent of new members are under 30 years old. "While we had more people leaving the party than joining in recent months during the traffic light government, the figures are currently balanced. Currently, membership development is stable with a slight upward trend," said Deputy State Director Thomas Kunz.