Christian Social People's Party

The party follows a Christian-democratic and conservative ideology and, like most parties in Luxembourg, is strongly pro-European. The CSV is a member of the European People's Party (EPP) and the Centrist Democrat International (CDI).

Christian Social People's Party Chrëschtlech-Sozial Vollekspartei
Abbreviation	CSV PCS
President	Luc Frieden
General Secretary	Françoise Kemp Alex Donnersbach
Founded	December 1944; 79 years ago (1944-12)
Preceded by	Party of the Right
Headquarters	4 rue de l'Eau Luxembourg
Youth wing	Christian Social Youth
Ideology	Christian democracy Conservatism Pro-Europeanism
Political position	Centre to centre-right
Regional affiliation	Christian Group
European affiliation	European People's Party
International affiliation	Centrist Democrat International
European Parliament group	European People's Party
Colours	Black   Light blue   Orange   White
Slogan	Kloer, no & gerecht. (Clear, close, and just.)
Chamber of Deputies	21 / 60
European Parliament	2 / 6
Local councils	192 / 722
Benelux Parliament	2 / 7
Website
www.csv.lu
Politics of Luxembourg Political parties Elections

The CSV has been the largest party in the Chamber of Deputies since the party's formation, and currently holds 21 of 60 seats in the Chamber. Since the Second World War, every Prime Minister of Luxembourg has been a member of the CSV, with only two exceptions: Gaston Thorn (1974–1979), and Xavier Bettel (2013–2023). It holds two of Luxembourg's six seats in the European Parliament, as it has for 14 of the 44 years for which MEPs have been directly elected.

The party's President has been Prime Minister Luc Frieden since March 2024. A leading figure from the party is the former Prime Minister, Jean-Claude Juncker, who previously governed in coalition with the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP) until the 2013 general election.

 

The earliest roots of the CSV date back to the foundation of the Party of the Right on 16 January 1914.

In December 1944, the Party of the Right was officially transformed into the Luxembourg Christian Social People's Party. "Luxembourg" was dropped from the name by late March 1945. The first elections after the Second World War took place in 1945; the party won 25 out of 51 seats, missing an absolute majority by a single seat.

From 1945 to 1974, the party was in government and gave Luxembourg the following Prime Ministers: Pierre Dupong, Joseph Bech, Pierre Frieden, and Pierre Werner. Mostly in coalition with the Democratic Party (DP), it gave Luxembourg a certain economic and social stability.

In the 1950s, the party structure underwent a certain democratisation: the party's youth section (founded in 1953) and women's section received representation in the party's central organs.

The party went into opposition for the first time in 1974, when the Democratic Party's Gaston Thorn became Prime Minister in coalition with the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP). In 1979, the party returned to government after its victory in the 1979 general election; Pierre Werner became PM.

In 1984, Jacques Santer became PM. He remained as such until 1995, when Jean-Claude Juncker became PM, with Santer meanwhile taking up the post of President of the European Commission.

Following the 2013 general election, the party went into opposition for the second time in its history as the Democratic Party's Xavier Bettel became Prime Minister in coalition with the LSAP and The Greens, making it the first time in Luxembourg's history that a three-party coalition government had been formed. This also marked the first time that The Greens were part of a governmental coalition. Despite remaining the largest party, the result of the 2018 general election represented the lowest public support in the party's history.

Chamber of Deputies

Election	Votes	%	Elected seats	Seats after	+/–	Government
1945	907,601	44.7 (#1)	25 / 51		New	Coalition
1948	386,972	36.3 (#1)	9 / 26	22 / 51	2	Coalition
1951	425,545	42.1 (#1)	12 / 26	21 / 52	1	Coalition
1954	1,003,406	45.2 (#1)	26 / 52		5	Coalition
1959	896,840	38.9 (#1)	21 / 52		5	Coalition
1964	883,079	35.7 (#1)	22 / 56		1	Coalition
1968	915,944	37.5 (#1)	21 / 56		1	Coalition
1974	836,990	29.9 (#1)	18 / 59		3	Opposition
1979	1,049,390	36.4 (#1)	24 / 59		6	Coalition
1984	1,148,085	36.7 (#1)	25 / 64		1	Coalition
1989	977,521	32.4 (#1)	22 / 60		3	Coalition
1994	887,651	30.3 (#1)	21 / 60		1	Coalition
1999	870,985	30.1 (#1)	19 / 60		2	Coalition
2004	1,103,825	36.1 (#1)	24 / 60		5	Coalition
2009	1,129,368	38.0 (#1)	26 / 60		2	Coalition
2013	1,103,636	33.7 (#1)	23 / 60		3	Opposition
2018	999,381	28.3 (#1)	21 / 60		2	Opposition
2023	1,099,427	29.2 (#1)	21 / 60		0	Coalition