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"The history of the world is none other than the progress of the consciousness of freedom."
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel

Four years after World War II, delegates from West German counties worked out the Grundgesetz ("Basic Law") as a temporary constitution for West Germany, which was quickly adopted by all these states. After reunification, Germans liked it so much they made only minor revisions.note 

Germany is a federal parliamentary democratic republic. Ever since France switched to a semi-presidential system with its Fifth Republic in 1958,note  Germany is widely considered to be the prototypical parliamentary republic, at least in Europe. (Globally, it's either Germany or India, though frankly parliamentary republics are rare outside of, er, Europe and South Asia.)

As a federal country, Germany has 16 constituent states, known as Bundesländer. These are described in The 16 Lands of Deutschland.

State Governments

All states have their own elected unicameral parliaments, which elects the head of government, who then forms the government.

Most state parliaments are called Landtag (State Diet), and their government consists of ministers headed by a Minister-President. The exceptions to this rule are the three "city-states" Hamburg, Bremen and Berlin. There, the government is called Senat, its members Senatoren, and its head Bürgermeister (Mayor) in one form or another. In Hamburg and Bremen, the parliament is called Bürgerschaft (Citizenry), while in Berlin it's called Abgeordnetenhaus (House of Representatives).

The German Länder can be compared to US states, with their own electoral politics in them. As they are by and large the legal descendants of sovereign states, they can also act on their own internationally in some cases. Which powers are unique to the Feds and which are designated to the states is usually spelled out in the constitution (tho the constitution contains the sentence "the details are spelled out in a federal law" or sentences to that effect quite often), but there are also cases in which there is a federal law, which is valid in all cases except those any given state has decided to make a more detailed or divergent law on. Given that the opinions on which powers ought to be held at which level keep evolving and given that no level of government voluntarily gives up power all that easily, a lot of constitutional reforms past present and future were concerned with shifting around the responsibility for various policy areas. For example, large parts of pandemic-preparedness related legislation were shifted from the Feds to the States a few years before Covid-19 in exchange for some other powers being given to the Feds. The area in which state power is most immediately obvious to the average citizen is education, with primary and secondary schools being very different from state to state and all the commonalities and convergences mostly the result of cooperation between all states operating by longstanding consensus rather than federal fiat.

Federal Government

Germany's President, elected via a special convention, is mostly a ceremonial figure and usually can safely be ignored.

His only real power is to decide whether or not to dissolve the Bundestag if it cannot agree on a Chancellor after an election or after the sitting Chancellor declared a "vote of confidence" and then lost it. Germany's Presidents used this power in 1972, 1983 and 2005, but each time with the support of the sitting Chancellor, who wanted an early election to clarify which side had the support of the people.

He also has the minor power to withhold his signature from any law he deems unconstitutional, which usually leads to the law being re-examined. This power is relatively rarely used, however.

The main political power lies in the hands of the Bundeskanzler ("Federal Chancellor").

The German legislature, consists of:

  • The Bundestag ("Federal Diet"), the lower, more-powerful, directly elected chamber. Members serve four year terms, unless it's dissolved first (which does happen).
  • The Bundesrat ("Federal Council", nothing to do with Rodents of Unusual Size, Rodents Of Normal Size, or Rodents Of Any Size Whatsoever), the upper chamber, appointed by the state cabinets and usually composed of senior members of the same (the theory goes that states are represented in the Bundesrat in the way that countries are represented in the United Nations—the same theory, as it happens, that informed the United States Senate before it started to be directly-elected in 1914). Weaker than the former, but still is required to pass at least 60% of laws.

Electoral System

Germany uses Proportional Representation (PR) for its parliaments on all levels, meaning that coalitions are the rule of the day. It also means the strongest party may become the main opposition if a coalition of other parties reach a majority in parliament.

There is a notable exception to PR, the Five Percent Threshold. In order to reach full representation under PR, a party has to get 5% of the vote, or win a number of constituencies (1 on state level, 3 on federal). Otherwise they get only seats for won constituencies. This has recently come under increased scrutiny by the Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht, BVerfG, in German), which basically only tolerates the 5% threshold on state and federal levels, hoping it provides for stable governments, but struck it down for local and in 2011 for EU Parliament elections. If it had declared the 5% threshold void for the EP elections in 2009, small parties would have got 8 of Germany's 99 seats. In the 2014 elections to the European parliament Germany did indeed send representatives of small parties, such as Martin Sonneborn of the PARTEI.

There are also Overhang Seats, which happen in a mixed-member proportional system (see below) if a party gets more seats from constituencies than it would receive overall. This happens more often in recent years. Formerly, those parties would simply keep their seats, which made them stronger than they should be proportionally. Due to this, the BVG decided in 2013 that the other parties must receive additional seats as well, until the proportional distribution is accurate.

Most states and the federal level use a mixed-member proportional system:

  • First, the overall result is decided by Proportional Representation.
  • Then for each party the seats are first filled with its first-past-the-post winners of single-member constituencies. This fills about half the seats.
  • The remaining seats for a party are filled from a pre-sorted party list, from the first person on the list on down. Most politicians run in a constituency as well as on their party list.
    • In local elections, constituencies don't exist, but the lists are open, so that the numbers of votes for the candidates determine who on the list gets elected.

In Bremen and Hamburg, citizen initiatives forced a change to open lists in state elections. More initiatives are planned in other states.

Bavaria came up with open lists on their own, while Baden-Württemberg uses a system without lists, with the remaining seats for a party being filled by those candidates who lost in their constituencies, but did better than the party's candidates in other constituencies.

German Political Parties

Germany has six major political parties in the Bundestag, with their own traditional colours, and their most important politicians (Federal Chancellors and Federal Presidents are only named here):

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  • CDU/CSU (Black, CSU also Blue-White for Bavaria): actually two parties, known generally as "The Union", with the Christian Democratic Union existing in all states except Bavaria, and the Christian Social Union only in Bavaria, Germany's second largest state by population. Both are big-tent center-right parties, with the CSU being more socially conservative. Especially the CDU favors more integration of The European Union, but is unwilling to help much without others agreeing to such integration.
    • Five Federal Chancellors: Konrad Adenauer 1949-63, Ludwig Erhard 1963-66, Kurt Georg Kiesinger 1966-69, Helmut Kohl 1982-98 and Angela Merkel 2005-21 (all CDU)
    • Six Federal Presidents: Heinrich Lübke 1959-69, Karl Carstens 1979-84, Richard von Weizsäcker 1984-94, Roman Herzog 1994-99, Horst Köhler 2004-2010 and Christian Wulff 2010-12 (all CDU)
    • Franz Josef Strauß (CSU): had a long career both on federal level and in Bavaria, where he was a long-time Minister-President. The CDU/CSU nominated him in 1980 as candidate for Chancellor, but the CDU/CSU didn't reach the necessary majority.
    • Edmund Stoiber (CSU): also a long-time Minister-President of Bavaria. The CDU/CSU nominated him in 2002, but the CDU/CSU, now allied with the FDP, again failed to reach the necessary majority. Once protesting against Brussels, he now heads an office there, which hunts down and kills unnecessary regulation—or at least is supposed to. At times it can look dismayingly like the Department of Administrative Affairs.
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  • SPD (Red): the Social Democratic Party of Germany. Once an unambiguously left party in the Marxist tradition, they gradually scrapped many of the socialist ideas in favor of centre-left 'social democracy'. Governs several states, and is currently the major partner in the Scholz government. The SPD is the oldest party in Germany, predating the formation of the country itself, and probably the most influential. The Precursors of the SPD were the Sozialdemokratische Arbeiterpartei Deutschland (SDAP) (Social Democratic Workers' Party of Germany) and the Allgemeiner Deutscher Arbeiterverein (General German Worker's Union) which united in 1875 to become the Sozialistische Arbeiterpartei Deutschland (SAPD) (Socialist Workers' Party of Germany). The founding fathers were August Bebel and Wilhelm Liebknecht. Under Bismarck, it was banned from 1878 to 1890 by the "Sozialistengesetz" (Socialist Act). After the anulment of the Socialist Act in 1890 it changed its name to Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschland (SPD).
    • Two Reichskanzler (Imperial Chancellors) in Weimar: Gustav Bauer (1919-1920), Herrmann Müller (1920) and (1928-1930)
    • One Reichspräsident (Imperial President) in Weimar: Friedrich Ebert (1919-25)
    • Four Bundeskanzler (Federal Chancellors) in the BRD: Willy Brandt 1969-74, Helmut Schmidt 1974-82, Gerhard Schröder 1998-2005 and Olaf Scholz since 2021.
    • Three Bundespräsidenten (Federal Presidents): Gustav Heinemann 1969-74, Johannes Rau 1999-2004 and Frank-Walter Steinmeier since 2017.
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  • FDP (Yellow or Blue-Yellow): Free Democratic Party, a liberal party, in the European sense (for those from the USA: moderately libertarian) with pro-civil-rights and pro-business views. Currently mostly coalition junior partners to the SPD. In the 2013 election, they didn't reach the 5-percent hurdle and is thus not in the Bundestag, marking the first time since the inception of the party where it isn't part of it. However, they managed to re-enter the Bundestag in the 2017 election.
    • Two Federal Presidents: Theodor Heuss 1949-59, Walter Scheel 1974-79
    • Hans-Dietrich Genscher: was foreign minister for 18 years (1974-92), where he generally followed Scheel's example of a foreign policy of trying to reach good behavior of other nations through good relations with them. Resigned when that didn't work in the beginning Yugoslavia conflict.
    • Guido Westerwelle: Leader of the party 2001-2011, Vice-Chancellor 2009-2011, and Foreign Minister 2009-2013, he attempted to follow Genscher's model. It didn't really work: he was blamed for the FDP's massive losses in the 2011 federal elections, and was forced to resign as Vice-Chancellor and party chief. His record as FM isn't much better, as he's been criticized by some in his own ministry for being too cautious and too inexperienced at foreign affairs. On the bright side, he was the highest-ranking openly gay man in German history. Died of cancer in 2016.
    • Philipp Rösler: Westerwelle's successor as party chief and Vice-Chancellor. Interesting for being adopted Vietnamese. So far he was the youngest Vice-Chancellor Post-war Germany had, assuming the office at the age of 38.
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  • Bündnis 90/Die Grünen (Green): A combination of the old West German Green Party and a collection of GDR civil rights activists (Alliance 90), it is the most successful such party in the world. Partnered with the SPD in the Schröder era, the German involvement in the 1999 war against Yugoslavia led to some resignations from the party. In 2011, the Greens "won" an election for the first time in traditionally-CDU Baden-Württemberg and now provide the Minister-President due to the seat distribution: Coalition 71 (Greens 36, SPD 35), Opposition 67 (CDU 60, FDP 7)
    • Petra Kelly: "led" the Greens in their early years (if such was possible). Died with her partner Gert Bastian in a murder-suicide.
    • Joseph "Joschka" Fischer: evolved from brick-throwing Marxist in the 1960s to state environment minister in Hesse in the 1980s to foreign minister under Schröder. Famously told the Vice-President of the Bundestag in the 1980s, "Mit Verlaub, Herr Präsident, Sie sind ein Arschloch" ("With respect, Mr. President, you are an asshole"). Now still is one of the most popular and respected politicians, across party lines, occasionally tossed around as a possible presidential candidate.
    • Winfried Kretschmann: first Green Minister-President. It helped that he's more conservative than the average Green, though not right-wing.
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  • Die Linke (Red, or Purple since the SPD already took Red): The Left Party is a recent merger of the relatively new WASG (founded by disgruntled Social Democrats; Wahlalternative Soziale Gerechtigkeit translates as Election alternative for social justice) and the PDS (Party of Democratic Socialism). The PDS in turn was once the Socialist Unity Party (Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands, SED)note  that ran East Germany, but lost most of its old members when it lost power. With the merger, former SPD chairman Lafontaine joined in, resulting in the party becoming more popular. The Left Party is strongest in the Eastern states and Lafontaine's home state of Saarland.
    • Gregor Gysi: straddled between system and opposition in East Germany, then became chairman of the SED-PDS in the winter of 1989/1990 when the job basically meant seeing the party losing the rest of their power. Managed to turn the party into a regular democratic party with left-wing views.
    • Oskar Lafontaine: had been the SPD Minister-President of Saarland in the 1980s and 90s and was SPD candidate for Chancellor 1990, then lost when reunification came. Later became SPD chairman, and minister for economy and finances when Schröder became Chancellor 1998. He resigned soon, giving as reason that Schröder wasn't left-wing enough, but he had enough time in the post to campaign vigorously for European integration and the Euro; for this reason, Eurosceptics across the continent hated him, with The Sun calling him "the most dangerous man in Europe". Joined the Left Party when it was formed in the PDS-WASG merger, and became their chairman.
    • Sarah Wagenknecht: Daughter of an Iranian father and a (East-)German mother and associated with Kommunistische Plattform (communist platform) until 2010. Now the number two within the party and faction in the Bundestag and also married to Oscar Lafontaine (since 2014). One of the best known Linke politicians and also one of its leading intellectuals. Has a fondness to delve into rhetoric that would not sound off at an AfD rally every once in a while to the annoyance of many members of her party.
  • Alternative für Deutschland (Blue and Red): A new party, founded only in 2013, as a response to the ongoing Eurocrisis. Considered a Eurosceptic party at first, then changed their course after a change in leadership in 2015 and are now considered a right-wing-populist party. In the 2013 election they received 4.7% of the vote, just under the 5% threshold required to get seats. They're supporters of the right-wing organisation PEGIDA (Patriotische Europäer gegen die Islamisierung des Abendlandes, "Patriotic Europeans against the Islamification of the Western World"). During the migrant crisis in 2015 they gained much support and entered four Landtage in 2016, even becoming the second-strongest party in Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. In the latter they even got more votes than the CDU. Their founder, Bernd Lucke, a professor of economics has been deposed and since left the party, resulting in it moving to the right and focusing more on immigration instead of economics. In 2016 they radically changed their course and became more of an anti-Islam party, even stating that "The Islam doesn't belong to Germany". In the 2017 election they managed to enter the Bundestag for the first time. The reaction of other parties to them is generally one of non-acknowledgement and hostility. As of 2022, they are present in the Bundestag, and 15 of the Landtage (the only one they're not present in is the Landtag of Schleswig-Holstein, after not receiving the minimum 5% of votes during the elections in May of that year), and are the strongest in Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Brandenburg and Thuringia, where for each Landtag they are the second strongest party and received over 20% of votes during the most recent elections.

Three other parties are currently also talked about:

  • Piraten (Orange): The Pirate Party is very young, its main demands are more personal liberties, transparency, democracy and social equality. Got 2% in federal and state elections until they reached 9% in Berlin in September 2011. Due to difficulties within the party they are currently seen as insignificant and it doesn't look like it's going to change.
  • Freie Wähler (Blue, sometimes Orange): Free Voters are usually local independent centrist or center-right groups that formed to run for local elections. State or federal organisations used to be only for coordination, but 2008 they won 10% in Bavaria's state election and also ran in the EU Parliament elections 2009 (where they would have won 2 of Germany's 99 seats if the 5%-threshold had been struck down by then).
  • NPD (Brown): Had been a far-right party since its formation in the 1960s as a coalition of several smaller ultraconservative and nationalist parties and was elected very rarely. Around the last decade it became worse than other such parties by its apparent alliance with violent Neo-Nazis. An attempt to declare it anticonstitutional (which would lead to the dissolution of the party and prevention of attempts to restart it with another name) in 2003 failed because the Constitutional Court did not see it proven beyond reasonable doubt that the undercover agents and informers of the police were not responsible for the violence (but the party's reaction to the trial suggested that the informers worked for the party and fooled the police rather than the other way around). Another attempt to declare the party anticonstitutional in 2016/17 failed because the party was seen as too insignificant to be a threat.

For a more detailed look at the party systems in Germany after World War II, see German Political Parties After World War II.


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