Volt Germany

Volt Germany (German: Volt Deutschland), mostly known by the abbreviated name Volt, is a social-liberal pro-European, eurofederalist political party in Germany. It is the German branch of Volt Europa, a progressive European political movement. Italian Andrea Venzon, French Colombe Cahen-Salvador and German Damian Boeselager founded Volt Europa in 2017 as a counterpart to the rising nationalism and right-wing populism in Europe. The party has been classified as socially liberal and pro-European. The key topics are: reform of the European Union, tackling the climate crisis, a fair and sustainable economy, and digitalization. Volt claims to have an evidence-based, scientific approach and is highly interested in introducing best practices. As registration as a European political party requires representation in at least seven EU member states, following the creation of its parent organisation Volt Europa A.I.S.B.L., the Volt movement started founding national parties to participate in elections. On 3 March 2018, Volt Germany was founded as a party in Hamburg. Volt Germany's first elections were the 2019 European elections and they were able to win one mandate, which Damian Boeselager holds in the European Parliament. At the municipal level, Volt Germany is part of the city governments of Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt am Main, Münster and Wiesbaden among others. The party's name is derived from the international electrical unit Volt in order to have a uniform name that is understandable throughout Europe, symbolizing "new energy" for Europe.