Introduction to Germany German political system From Coalition Building to Coalition Management 1
Introduction to Germany 2
Germany Population: 82 million Capital: Berlin National language: German President: Joachim Gauck Chancellor: Angela Merkel Federal Republic: 16 States Source: INTER-NATIONES: Übersichten: Die Bundesrepublik Deutschland und Ihre Laender 3
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Size and Distances Size of Germany: 357,021 km² 1100 km 950 km 5
Urban Settlements Largest city: Berlin 3.426.354 FNF Other large cities: Hamburg 1.773.218 Munich 1.315.476 Cologne 996.690 Frankfurt 659.021 Stuttgart 597.176 Dortmund 585.670 Düsseldorf 582.222 Essen 580751 Bremen 548.477 Hanover 518.088 Duisburg 496.655 6
The German Political System 7
The Political System The political system of the Federal Republic of Germany has the structure of a federal republic with 16 Länder (states), which have their own constitutions according to the Basic Law. There are complex checks and balances to safeguard against dangers to the constitution. Political rights, democratic institutions and the federal system receive special protection by the German constitution (the Basic Law). The basic law and the constitutional rights it embodies are protected by the Federal Constitutional Court. Further, these rights are enforceable. 8
The Basic Law (the German Constitution) Chapter 1: Basic rights (equality before the law; right to privacy, private property & education; freedoms of speech, information, expression, movement & association, etc.) Chapter 2: Structure & powers of the federation & states Chapter 3: The federal institutions Chapter 4: Federal legislation & its implementation Chapter 5: Administration of justice Chapter 6: Public finance & taxation 9
Separation of Powers (German Federalism) Vertical & Horizontal Division of Power: Horizontal: Executive, Legislative & Judiciary Vertical: National, State & Communal levels The vertical separation of power assigns different areas of responsibility to each level; i.e. education is a responsibility of the state governments, while foreign policy is a task of the national government. Separate elections are held for the 3 vertical divisions of power. 10
Federal Structure Federal President Joachim Gauck Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel Federal Council (Bundesrat) Federal Cabinett Federal Ministers Federal Convention Federal Assembly (Bundestag) Baden-Württemburg Hesse State Governments Saxony Local Government Bavaria Lower Saxony Saxony-Anhalt Berlin Mecklenburg-Western-Pomerania Brandenburg North-Rhine-Westphalia Bremen Rhineland-Palatinate Schleswig-Holstein Hamburg Saarland The people 11
Executive Branch Head of State President (Joachim Gauck) Head of Government Chancellor (Angela Merkel) appoints chooses elects 5-year term Bundeskabinett (Cabinet) elects 4-year term Bundesversammlung Bundestag 12
Legislative Branch Bicameral Parliament Bundestag (Federal Assembly) Lower House Popular vote (direct and proportional) direct representation Bundesrat (Federal Council) Upper House Delegates from State Governments indirect representation 13
The Bundestag (Federal Assembly) Parlamentarische Mitregierung Co-gobierno parlamentario The Bundestag is the direct representative body of the people of the Federal Republic of Germany. The Bundestag has decisive legislative authority and thus is the most important organ of the state. Some legislation requires permission from the Bundesrat (the representation of the states). The Members of the Bundestag are from different political parties who are elected according to the mixed member proportional representation system. Candidates are normally nominated by a party, but independent individuals can also stand. 14
The Bundesrat (Federal Council) The Bundesrat represents the interests of the Länder (states) at the federal level Legislative & administrative functions, incl. the right to initiate legislation Absolute veto powers in bills amending the constitution bills affecting state finances or the administrative sovereignty of states Formed by Representatives from and appointed by the 16 state-level governments. (No elections.) (total seats: 69) The composition of the Bundesrat is determined by the composition of the state-level governments, and may thus change when one of the 16 states holds an election. So the Bundesrat is not directly elected (representatives and Ministerpraesidenten of the Laender) 15
Type of Electoral System According to international taxonomy standards: Mixed-member proportional system (2 votes per person - Direct and indirect candidates) Definition: A system in which a proportion of the parliament (usually half) is elected from plurality-majority electoral districts, while the remaining members are chosen from PR lists, the list seats compensate for any disproportional produced by the electoral district results. However, every seat from a electoral district can be kept, which might increase the total number of MP s in parliament ( additional mandates ) Historical background: It was devised to overcome the weaknesses of previous political systems, which have proven unstable in German history: The absolute majority system of the German Empire was characterised by a lack of political participation, as power was held by a manufactured (unrepresentative) majority. The pure proportional representation system of the Weimar Republic (1919-1933) weakened the state, paving the way for the abrogation of the constitution by Adolf Hitler in 1933 16
Direct candidate Indirect candidate Mixed-Member Proportional Representation The German electoral system is generally referred to as the mixed-member proportional representation system. 2 votes per person Candidate of local Constituency (first-past-the post) Party List Candidate (proportional representation) 17
Electoral districts Provided for local, national and European elections Since the last elections 2005 Germany is divided in 299 electoral districts areas, which are further divided in Wahlbezirke Vote for direct candidate Candidate of local Constituency Vote for indirect candidate Party List Candidate (proportional representation) 18
Candidate of local Constituency Election bullet First vote Second vote Candidate Party A Party A Candidate Party B Party B Candidate Party C Party C Party in the Bundestag 19
From Coalition Building to Coalition Management 20
What is a Coalition? A government coalition is usually formed after an election and by as many parties as are needed for at least a simple majority. There are many different typologies, e.g. based on the ideological composition or on the number of parties. Coalitions are often cricised as ineffective (bias). Alliances are formed before an election and have a more ambigous character. They include untrue or silent, coercive and opposition coalitions. There are many different typologies, e.g. negative or constructive opposition coalitions. 21
Former Coalitions in Germany 1949 1953 CDU/CSU, FDP, DP 1953 1956 CDU/CSU, FDP, DP 1956 1957 CDU/CSU, FVP, DP 1957 1961 CDU/CSU, DP 1961 1965 CDU/CSU, FDP 1965 1966 CDU/CSU, FDP 1966 1969 CDU/CSU, SPD Grand coalition 1969 1972 SPD, FDP 1972 1976 SPD, FDP 1976 1980 SPD, FDP 1980 1982 SPD, FDP 1982 1983 CDU/CSU, FDP 1983 1987 CDU/CSU, FDP 1987 1990 CDU/CSU, FDP 1990 1994 CDU/CSU, FDP 1994 1998 CDU/CSU, FDP 1998 2002 SPD, Grüne 2002 2005 SPD, Grüne 2005-2009 CDU/CSU, SPD Grand coalition In total, the FDP joined 12 of 19 coalitions since 1949 Of 50 possible years being in a coalition, the FDP missed 19 years But: Since 1998 FDP not participated in a coalition/government 22
Angela Dorothea Merkel (born, 17/07/1954, in Hamburg, Germany), is the Chancellor of Germany. Merkel, elected to the German Parliament from Mecklenburg Vorpommern, has been the chairwoman of the CDU since 09/04/2000, and Chairwoman of the CDU-CSU parliamentary party group from 2002 to 2005 CDU/CSU The CDU and CSU have formed a single parliamentary group since 1949, which targets conservative voters from both the Catholic and Protestant community. The CSU is only represented in Bavaria, while the CDU is represented in all the states except Bavaria. The CDU currently has 536,668 members (As of: 31/12/2007) 25.4 % of members are female and 74.6 % male. The female proportion is higher in the new East Germany states with 29.2 % compared to the former states in West Germany with 24.8 %. Before 1966 membership totals in CDU organization were only estimated. The numbers after 1966 are based on the total from 31. December of the previous year. 23
Sigmar Gabriel (born 12 September 1959) is a German politician currently chairing the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). Following the SPD's defeat in the federal election of 2009, Franz Müntefering resigned from the position of party chairman of the Social Democratic Party. Gabriel was nominated as his successor and was elected on 13 November 2009. [3] He was re-elected as party chairman for a further two years at the SPD party conference in Berlin on 5 December 2011, receiving 91.6% of the vote. [4] SPD The Social Democratic Party of Germany (Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands SPD) is Germany's oldest political party and its largest in terms of membership. After World War II, under the leadership of Kurt Schuhmacher, the SPD reestablished itself as an ideological party, representing the interests of the working class and the trade unions. The party's program, which espoused Marxist principles, called for the nationalisation of major industries and state planning. Today the SPD advocates the modernisation of the economy to meet the demands of globalisation, but it also stresses the need to address the social needs of workers and society's disadvantaged. 24
Guido Westerwelle (born 27/12/1961 is the leader of the libertarian party FDP. As such he is also the current libertarian parliamentary leader within the German Parliament. FDP Free Democratic Party (Freie Demokratische Partei, FDP) is a right wing political party. The party's ideology combines beliefs in individual liberty, in a state or government "that is as small as possible and as large as necessary" (so viel Staat wie nötig, so wenig Staat wie möglich!). It promotes a market economy, with traditional features of the German social welfare system. The FDP is currently the thirdlargest party in the Bundestag. In foreign policy the FDP supports European integration and transatlantic partnership. The party has generally distinguished itself from the CDU and the SPD by advocating more market-oriented policies. 25
Claudia Benedikta Roth (born 15/05/1955) is a German Green Party politican and one of the two current party chairs. Cem Özdemir (born 21 December 1965, Bad Urach) is a German politician. He is cochairman of the German political party Alliance '90/The Greens. Alliance '90/The Greens The Alliance '90/The Greens (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen), the German green party, is a political party in Germany whose regional predecessors were founded in the late 1970s as part of the new social movement. The party was formally inaugurated on the weekend of January 17-18, 1980, by 1,000 delegates to its first convention in Karlsruhe, West Germany, as "Die Grünen". It is one of the oldest, although not the oldest, and so far the most politically successful of the world's many green parties. In 1989 and 1990 numerous civil rights groups in East Germany combined to form Bündnis 90, which merged with "Die Grünen" in 1993. Bündnis 90/Die Grünen were part of the national coalition government between 26 1998 and October 2005.
Katja Kipping (born January 18, 1978, Dresden, East Germany) is a German politician and chairwoman of the Left Party. Bernd Riexinger (born 30 October 1955 in Leonberg) is a German politician of the Left Party and since 2 June 2012 co-chairman of the party. The Left The Left (German: Die Linke), also commonly referred to as the Left Party (German: Linkspartei), is a democratic socialist political party in Germany. The Left is the most left-wing party of the five represented in the Bundestag. The party was founded on 16 June 2007 as the merger of the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) the successor of thesocialist Unity Party of Germany (the ruling party of East Germany until 1989) and the Electoral Alternative for Labour and Social Justice (WASG). Its co-chairs are Katja Kipping and Bernd Riexinger. In the Bundestag the party has 76 out of 622 seats after polling 11.9% of the vote in the 2009 federal elections. [2] 27
Models of coalition formation Agreement form Advantage Disadvantage Loose agreement Highly flexible Not very binding Minimum consensus (India) Common election manifesto (Germany) From case to case (Indonesia) Binding on essentials Flexible on other issues Binding, improves stability Not very flexible Highly flexible High costs due to constant recreation 28
Political parties & their leaders (2009) In Government: Christian Democratic Union (CDU) [Angela Merkel] Christian Social Union (CSU) [Horst Seehofer] Social Democratic Party (SPD) [Franz Müntefering] In Opposition: Free Democratic Party (FDP) [Guido Westerwelle] Alliance '90/Greens [Claudia Roth, Reinhard Buetikofer] The Left Party (PDS) [ Oskar Lafontaine, Lothar Bisky ] *Note: This page only lists parties represented in the Bundestag 29
Actual coalitions in the Laender (2009) Bavaria CSU/FDP Berlin SPD/Linke Baden- Werttemberg Saarland CDU Rhineland Palatinate North Rhine Westphalia CDU/FDP SPD CDU/FDP Lower Saxony CDU/FDP Saxony CDU/SPD Saxony- Anhalt CDU/SPD Hesse CDU/FDP Thuringia CDU Bremen SPD/Gruene Hamburg CDU/Gruene FDP is a governing party/coalition partner in 5 Laender (in total 16 Laender) Schleswig- Holstein Mecklenburg Vorpommern CDU/SPD SPD/CDU Brandenburg SPD/CDU 30
Coalition management tools In the German practice of coalition management and conflict resolution five tools are usually employed: 1. Regular routine coalition talks 2. Regular routine co-ordination meetings of the parliamentary fractions 3. Meetings of the chairmen of the coalition member parties (elephant rounds) 4. Working groups of the coalition partners 5. Proportional crossed-over ministerial and secretarial appointements (Kreuzstichverfahren cross stitch). 31
Informal decision-making centres 32
Challenge No. 3: How to deal with factors affecting the party behaviour? 1. Executive-legislature relationship: parliamentary/presidential democracy 2. Electoral system: majoritarian vs. proportional (number of parties = their ideological range and mutual compatibility), party-centred vs. candidate-centred (internal cohesion of parties) 3. Social cleavages: cross-cutting vs. non-cross-cutting (issue-based or cutting across issues), extreme vs. moderate 33
Challenge No. 4: How to deal with the negative perception of coalition governments? In a coalition government the knives remain out among the partners and they are being perpetually sharpened. In a coalition alliance that is very different. Here the partners have to wait for open criticism after they have unseated the current government. Coalitions in a democratic set-up can therefore only be the second-best-choice because they cannot ensure 100 % concerted action. However, in political practice of almost all democracies, especially of the parliamentary types, Westminster as well as listproportional systems, coalition governments have become the rule and not the exception of political decision-making and democratic governance. 34
Challenge No. 5: How to explain and justify the entered coalition? The entered coalition has to be explained to the political party members as well as justified to the political party voters. 35
Challenge No. 6: How to keep the own political identity? During the coalition, the political parties have to avoid to: loose the own political profile become swallowed by the bigger coalition partner Concurrently they have to: Distinguish them self from the coalition partner to keep their own recognisability 36
Challenge No. 7: How to find exit solutions? In specific situations, the political parties have to find solutions to exit the coalition: - power struggles within the coalition partner/partners - internal party conflicts - specific political themes or issues Exit solutions could be to: - chancel the coalition contract - increase the political pressure on the cooperating party 37
Reinventando el Estado. Madrid: INAP, 2009, pp. 183 y ss. Bäumlin Kewenig Parlamento y gobierno en el nuevo ordenamiento político de Alemania En Max Weber Escritos Políticos