Party of Progress Partei des Fortschritts | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | |
| Leader | Lukas Sieper |
| Presidium | Erik Oetjen Luca Piwodda Artemij Kiel Armin Schmeling Peter Klaus Bastian Große Mustafa Kramer-Resit Heike Herden Christian Hickel Paul Strauß Kilian Ebert Michelle Kahlich |
| Founder | Lukas Sieper Lukas Reis Carlo Lüdorf |
| Founded | March 2020 |
| Headquarters | Esserstraße 2, 51105 Köln |
| Youth wing | Young. Political. Good-looking.(Jung. Politisch. Gutaussehend.) |
| Membership(2026) | 1000 |
| Ideology | Grassroots democracy Social liberalism Pro-Europeanism |
| Political position | Centre-left |
| European Parliament group | Non-Inscrits |
| Colours | Orange Turquoise White |
| Bundestag | 0 / 630 |
| State Parliaments | 0 / 1,855 |
| European Parliament | 1 / 96 |
| Website | |
| partei-des-fortschritts.de | |
TheParty of Progress (German:Partei des Fortschritts,PdF), also known asParty of Progress – Free Parliamentary Alliance (PdF–FPA) is a political party inGermany founded inCologne in 2020.[1] While the party sees itself as being beyond theleft–right political spectrum, it is classified asleft-liberal by political scientists.[2]
The PdF claims to be active throughout Germany. Joining the PdF is not tied to German nationality and, according to the party's statutes, is open to every resident of Germany and every EU citizen.[not verified in body] In the2024 European elections in Germany, it received 0.6% of the vote and entered the European Parliament with oneMember of the European Parliament. In 2024, Luca Piwodda was elected as the mayor ofGartz (Oder). In May 2025, Tim Sieper became the mayor ofEckenroth after his father Michael stepped down due to issues concerning his health. With that, Sieper became Germany's youngest mayor to date at age 20.
The Party of Progress ran for the first time in the NRW local elections in the Cologne- Kalk constituency and received 20 votes there.[3] Its second participation in the election took place in the2021 German federal election, where it received 3,228 votes.[4] At the state level, the PdF ran for the first time in the2022 North Rhine-Westphalia state election, where it won 0.1% of all second votes with 6,154 votes.[5]
The Party of Progress was admitted to theJune 2024 European Parliament election and was thus eligible to stand for election throughout Germany for the first time. It received 0.6% of the vote and thus a seat in the European Parliament, as there is no threshold inEuropean elections. Party leaderLukas Sieper was elected.[6] Luca Piwodda was elected mayor ofGartz (Oder) in the same year.
In theSeptember 2024 Saxony state election the PdF won 248 votes (0.01%). On 18 May, 2025, the PdF held their 19th Federal Party Conference (German:Bundesparteitag) inHanover, where they officially announced the creation of the party's youth wing, JPG (Jung. Politisch. Gutaussehend.). Kilian Ebert and Pauline Leist were elected as co-chairpersons of the JPG, with Ole Hamann being elected deputy chairperson. They also elected a new presidium, with Erik Oetjen, Luca Piwodda, Artemij Kiel and Paul Strauß retaining their posts in the presidium. The Party of Progress also plans to take part in the state elections inBaden-Württemberg,Berlin,Rhineland-Palatinate andSaxony-Anhalt. The PdF also had two major candidates in the2025 North Rhine-Westphalia local elections, Joel Cristobal Chamorro inWiehl and Heike Flora Herden inCologne. In May 2025, Tim Sieper became the mayor ofEckenroth after his father Michael stepped down due to issues concerning his health. With that, Sieper became Germany's youngest mayor to date at age 20.
On September 19, 2025, the party announced that the merger with the Free Citizens of Central Germany, which had been planned for several months, had been completed. This gave the PdF a total of 69 seats, including several city and local council seats in theMansfeld-Südharz district, as well as (local) mayoral offices. Effective immediately, these seats will operate under the name Party of Progress–Free Citizens of Central Germany (PdF–FBM). Andreas Koch was mayor ofMansfeld.[7]
Basic principles
The PdF sees one of the main problems of politics in Germany asclientelist politics. It is of the opinion that the democratic competition of opinions provided for in the Basic Law has been reinterpreted as a competition between different social groups for influence and power to shape things.
The basic program deals with issues at the state, federal and European level. The PdF advocates "pragmatic democracy" beyond the ideological categories of right and left, which is to be achieved through referendums. TheBasic Law is given particular importance. In addition, everyone should be treated equally regardless of external characteristics, religion or culture, and the weakest should be protected. Those who are capable should, on the other hand, be able to benefit from their achievements.[8]
In addition,lobbying in politics, which the party considers undemocratic, is to be combatted through transparency. The party also comments on topics that are currently being discussed in current German affairs. The PdF is againstUpload-Filter [de], and for new regulations ondrug policy and for IT training for young citizens.[9]
The basic program begins with a commitment to the Basic Law and democracy, which is seen as the only solution to reconcile conflicting interests and ideologies within society. The PdF sees the state as having a responsibility to enable all citizens to participate equally in social and political development, regardless of any characteristics such as gender, religion, origin, external characteristics, sexuality or culture.[10] The party is also committed to thesocial market economy.[11]
The Party of Progress sees the basic principles of society in a democratic guarantee of freedom and security for citizens. It sees the state as having the primary responsibility to serve the people. Society as a whole should seek a balance between the personal freedom of individuals and the interests of the whole. In the eyes of the party,solidarity and humanity oblige the individual to support everyone. Weaker parts of society should not be ignored, for example, but at the same time everyone who works hard and honestly should also be able to enjoy the fruits of their labour. The Party of Progress states that society should not impose values on individuals, but should ensure that everyone can live out their personal values.[10]
The PdF sees the comprehensivedigitisation of all areas, includingpublic administration and government processes, as a basic prerequisite for the progress of society. To achieve this, it says, broadcast media should be expanded andnetwork neutrality should be guaranteed.[10]
The Party of Progress is committed to the European community of values, theEuropean single market and supranationalEuropean integration. At the European level, it is committed to strengthening and expanding the European Parliament as the only directly democratically legitimized body of the EU. In addition, bureaucratic processes in theEuropean Parliament, theEuropean Commission and theCouncil of the European Union should be made more tangible for the population. According to the party, Germany should significantly advance the project of European integration and take on a pioneering role. The Party also supports theexpansion of the European internal market, the European financial world and the commonEuropean security and defense policy.[10]
The PdF sees the state as having an obligation to protect its population and their rights. To this end, it demands that there should be noungoverned areas in either the analogue or digital space.[10]
With regard to social and labour market policy, the PdF is committed to the principle of thewelfare state and supports an increase in theminimum wage forcare workers, the reform of thepension system, the improved reintegration of the unemployed and job seekers, the expansion of permanent employment contracts, further incentives for part-time retirement, equality between the genders in the labour market and the promotion of partnerships for all genders, including a pluralistic image of the family.[10]
With regard to education and research, the PdF calls for nationwide uniformeducational standards, the simplification of educational paths, priority-oriented funding, the simplification of access tosecond-chance education, significantlysmaller class sizes, free afternoon/homework supervision, the introduction of modern subjects, thedigitization of teaching materials, theintegration of children with a migrant background and betterteacher training.[10]
For the PdF, the expansion of local and long-distance public transport,rail freight and investments in new technologies are basic requirements for a functioning transport system in the future. To this end, it is committed to strengthening public passenger transport, promoting alternative drives, shifting freight transport to rail and opposing theprivatization of roads.[10]
The Party of Progress recognizesclimate change as one of the greatest challenges for Germany and calls for an ideology-free and scientifically based environmental policy. In addition to fulfilling climate protection agreements and agreed climate protection goals, it works to preservebiodiversity, subsidize small and medium-sized agricultural businesses and maintain soil fertility. The Party of Progress advocates the "preservation of biodiversity" and calls for a "significant part of the land used by humans to be ecologically upgraded again".[10]
The PdF wants a more consistent and structuredenergy transition. To achieve this, it is focusing on the promotion ofrenewable energies, the expansion ofenergy storage, the establishment of a safe final storage facility fornuclear waste, the improvement of Germany'senergy efficiency andwaste avoidance.[10]
For effective integration and inclusion, the Party of Progress is in favour of issuing work visas to committedasylum seekers, educating asylum seekers, returning rejected asylum seekers to their safe places of origin, abolishing the right to asylum in the event of criminal offences, reducing the costs of asylum seekers and establishing the identity of asylum seekers.[10]
The PdF is committed to theUnited Nations andhuman rights as the foundations forpeace,freedom andjustice. In their view, war is not a means of politics.[10]
In order to enable the state to act, the PdF considersstable state finances to be necessary. It also advocates the fight againsttax fraud, thereduction of bureaucracy for start-ups and the promotion of astart-up culture in schools and universities.[10]
The PdF is divided into a federal association, 16state associations and district associations corresponding to theconstituencies of the German Bundestag . The federal association determines the general political direction of the party. The state association determines the party's position on all issues of state politics . The district associations control the party's local politics and are mainly responsible for direct communication with citizens and voters.[12]
The central program organ of the PdF are the party parliaments. These take on the function of a program party conference that meets on a permanent basis and are held before the party conferences in accordance withSection 9 of the Party Law. Membership in the party parliament is independent of membership in the Party of Progress. This means that non-members have equal rights to contribute to the PdF's programs, even if their votes are scaled down compared to the votes of members as a safeguard against extremist and undemocratic infiltration.
The PdF has permanent party parliaments at all levels. These serve as a permanent party congress and are intended to find answers to current issues.
The federal party parliament ratifies the programmatic and political goals of the federal association. It formulates the party's official positions on goals for society as a whole or current issues. Its members are appointed by the federal association upon written application. Applications are open to any member and are made informally. The state party parliaments send assessors to the federal party parliament. They have the right to speak but not to vote.
The state party parliament ratifies the programmatic and political goals of the respective state association. It formulates the official positions of the state association on state-specific or current issues. Its members are elected by the state association from among its members. Any member can apply and submits a written declaration to the chairman of the state association. Every 10 district associations sends one assessor to the federal party parliament. These district associations must be geographically or programmatically related.
The district party parliament formulates the programmatic and political goals of the district association. It sets the goals and concerns of the district association. Its members are initially elected by the district association from among its members. Each district association can appoint representatives of civil society or personalities of regional importance to its district party parliament at its own discretion. The number of MPs who are also members of the party must always be more than half of the MPs.[12]
Two thirds of the party parliaments are made up of party members and one third are non-members fromvarious associations. The party's political lines are determined in the parliaments[9]
The meetings of the party parliaments take place online and in hybrid form. Voting takes place in a decentralized manner.[12]
There are two types of working groups in the Party of Progress: Some are subdivisions of the party parliaments and are responsible for individual current issues, certain program papers or election programs. Like the party parliaments, they are also open to non-members. The others are organizational working groups that are legitimized by the executive board and to which only members and individually approved supporters have access. Like the party parliaments, the working groups meet primarily digitally. The working groups provide suggestions for solving problems that are taken up by the parliaments. Anyone can participate in the working groups as long as the points discussed concern them personally.[9]
The PdF is financed primarily through donations. The party wants to operate independently of large donations and lobbyists and therefore tries to acquire supporters and small donors. The membership fee is voluntary, which is intended to facilitate participation in the democratic process within the party.[12]
The Party for Progress has the following state parties:
| Federal state party | Spokesperson | Chairperson | Foundation | Membership | As of |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baden-Württemberg | Daniel Putz (acting) | Klaus Boldt | 10 November 2024 | — | 2025 |
| Bavaria | Ralf Lembach | Jürgen Lindolf | — | — | 2024 |
| Berlin | Salem Rezik | Babak Rohani | — | — | 2025 |
| Brandenburg | Karolin Werkmeister | Dennis Latzke | 16 November 2024 | — | 2024 |
| Bremen | Patrick Söhnen | Hartmut Meya | — | — | 2025 |
| Hamburg | Gabriele Brumm | Marco Ruddat | 27 October 2024 | — | 2024 |
| Hesse | Leon Elias Pfeiffer | Niklas Klein | — | — | 2025 |
| Lower Saxony | Christian Hickel | Sebastian Hahn | 13 November 2024 | — | 2024 |
| Saxony | Agata Trofimiak Adrian Weber | Luka Götze | — | — | 2025 |
| Saxony-Anhalt | Jenny Rinoa Rosenau | Felix Neumann | — | — | 2025 |
| Schleswig-Holstein | Matthias Riedinger | Mike Albertsen | 18 May 2025 | 2025 | |
| North Rhine-Westphalia | Heike Herden | Marcel Huckestein | 25 August 2024 | 217 | 2025 |
| Rhineland-Palatinate | Kevin Schmidt | Lars Schier | 15 December 2024 | — | 2024 |
| Thuringia | Michelle Kahlich | Kai Koppmann | — | — | 2025 |
| Election | Leader | Constituency | Party list | Seats | +/– | Government | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | |||||
| 2021 | Lukas Sieper | N/a | 3,228 | 0.01 (#38) | 0 / 735 | New | Extra-parliamentary | |
| 2025 | 1,282 | 0.00 (#25) | 21,377 | 0.04 (#18) | 0 / 630 |  0 | Extra-parliamentary | |
| Election | List leader | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | EP Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Lukas Sieper | 227,631 | 0.57 (#15) | 1 / 96 | New | NI |