EN
Each of the German political parties that entered the Bundestag after the election of 2009 (CDU/CSU, SPD, FDP, Die Linke and Bundnis 90/Die Grunen) devoted much space in their election programs to issues of cultural policy and culture. The catalog of problems to which attention was drawn overlapped at many points, sometimes differing only in emphasis. Issues highlighted by all the parties included among others: strengthening the status of culture by a regulation in the Constitution that would impose mandatory support of culture by the state; favoring freedom of culture and art and its widespread accessibility; maintaining cultural diversity and investing in the development of cultural and creative economy (Kultur- und Kreativwirtschaft). Willingness was also declared to improve artists' working conditions and material situation by creating more feasible (tax and legal) regulations for the development of their artistic production (including effective protection of copyright laws) and a better system of health/retirement insurance. The need was emphasized to support public institutions in the cultural sphere and the German film industry. Greater activity was called for in the domain of foreign cultural policy, cultivation of the culture of memory, the role of cultural education, etc. All the parties noted the importance of cultural issues as an element of building national identity, expressing their will to improve the existing situation so as to create more optimal conditions and opportunities for the development of culture and the arts.