founded on 22 January 2005 in Göttingen. The party's name came into being as Arbeit und soziale Gerechtigkeit – Die Wahlalternative (the abbreviation ASG later had to be changed to WASG, due to a lawsuit). Internal conflicts There was a lot of controversy about the new party's political orientation among its members. While some liked to establish it as a purely leftist party of socialist inclination, many others, especially union representatives and former SPD members, aimed to provide a home also for social conservatives and religious people who believe in a strong welfare state. The argument escalated in February 2005 (shortly after the party's foundation) but was soothed through a compromise that was satisfactory for everyone. The compromise calls for a strict accord with welfare state orientation without excluding more socialist-minded members from the party. Regional election in North Rhine-Westphalia The party decided to take part in the regional election in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany's most populous state, on 22 May 2005. Eligibility was ensured in all regional counties, and pastor Jürgen Klute of Herne was the leading candidate of a 40-person-ticket. In this regional election the WASG reached 2.2% of the votes cast (approximately 182,000 votes). Lawsuit against the abbreviation ASG According to a decision made by the District Court of Düsseldorf, the party was no longer allowed to officially use its abbreviation "ASG". The party had been sued by the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Sozialpädagogik und Gesellschaftsbild (ASG). As a result the abbreviation WASG" has been unofficially adopted – with an equally unofficial slight reordering of the words in its name to fit the new abbreviation. Electoral alliance with the PDS After the crushing defeat of his SPD in the state elections in North Rhine-Westphalia, Federal Chancellor Schröder declared the intention of going for a general election as soon as possible, avoiding the completion of the regular term – which was to run until September 2006 – by the device of failing a Motion of Confidence vote, which took place on 1 July 2005. However, there were major constitutional issues which were to be settled by the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany. According to the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, which incorporates lessons learned from the failed Weimar Republic, the Bundestag cannot dissolve itself or be dissolved by a political representative ahead of schedule, except under very rare circumstances. While the WASG hoped to gain a large enough membership