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Politics of Germany takes place in a framework of a federal parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Federal Chancellor is the head of government, and of a plurality multi-party system. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany (Grundgesetz für die Bundesrepublik Deutschland is the Constitution of Germany. Based on the experience with the atrocities of the Nazi regime, human rights in Germany are protected extensively by the constitution The Federal Assembly (aka Federal Convention Bundesversammlung is a special body in the institutional system of Germany, convened solely for the purpose of electing The Bundesrat ("federal council" or "upper house of German parliament" is the representation of the 16 Federal States ( Bundesländer) of The Bundestag ("Federal Diet " or "Lower House of German Parliament" is the Parliament of Germany. The Federal Constitutional Court (in German: Bundesverfassungsgericht BVerfG) is a special Court established by the Basic Law for the Federal Republic The “ Federal Court of Justice of Germany ” ( German: “ Bundesgerichtshof ” or “ BGH ” is the highest court in the system of ordinary jurisdiction The President of Germany (deutscher Bundespräsident is Germany 's Head of state. Horst Köhler ( born 22 February 1943) is a German politician ( CDU) and economist who serves as the current President of Germany. The Head of government of Germany is called Chancellor (Kanzler (ˈaŋɡela doʁoˈteːa ˈmɛɐ̯kəl (born Angela Dorothea Kasner, 17 July 1954 in Hamburg, West Germany) is the Chancellor of Germany. The Cabinet of Germany ( German: Bundeskabinett or Bundesregierung) is the chief executive body of the Federal Republic of Germany Germany (Deutschland is a Federal Republic consisting of sixteen States, known in German as Länder (singular German districts (de ''Kreise'' or de ''Landkreise'' in the states of Nordrhein-Westfalen and Schleswig-Holstein, singular de ''Kreis'' and de ''Landreis'' The following information deals with elections in Germany, including elections to the Federal Diet (the lower house of the federal parliament the Landtags This is a list of political parties in Germany. Germany has a Multi-party system with two large parties three substantial smaller parties and a number of minor The Federal Republic of Germany is a Central European country and member of the European Union, Group of 8 and NATO (among others The European Union is a unique entity possessing elements of Intergovernmentalism, Supranationalism and a Multi-party Parliamentary democracy Information on politics by country is available for every Country, including both De jure and De facto independent A federation ( Latin: foedus, covenant is a union comprising a number of partially self-governing states or regions united by a central ("federal" A parliamentary system, also known as parliamentarianism (and parliamentarism in American English) is a System of government in which Representative democracy is a form of government founded on the principles of the people's representatives A republic is a State or Country that is not led by a hereditary Monarch, but in which the people (or at least a part of its people have impact on its The Head of government of Germany is called Chancellor (Kanzler This article focuses on the cases where the Head of Government is a separate office from the Head of State Executive power is exercised by the government. In Political science and Constitutional law, the executive is the branch of government responsible for the day-to-day management of the State. Federal legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of parliament, Bundestag and Bundesrat. A legislature is a type of representative Deliberative assembly with the power to create amend and change Laws The law created by a legislature is called Legislation For the government of parliamentary systems see Executive (government. The Bundestag ("Federal Diet " or "Lower House of German Parliament" is the Parliament of Germany. The Bundesrat ("federal council" or "upper house of German parliament" is the representation of the 16 Federal States ( Bundesländer) of Since 1949, the party system has been dominated by the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). The Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands) is the largest Political party in Germany.
The Judiciary of Germany is independent of the executive and the legislature. The judiciary's independence and extensive responsibilities reflect the importance of the rule of law in the German system of government The political system is laid out in the 1949 constitution, the Grundgesetz (Basic Law), which remained in effect with minor amendments after 1990's German reunification. A constitution is a system for government often Codified as a written document that establishes the rules and principles of an autonomous political entity The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany (Grundgesetz für die Bundesrepublik Deutschland is the Constitution of Germany. German reunification (Deutsche Wiedervereinigung took place twice after 1945 first in 1957 the Saarland was permitted to join the Federal Republic of Germany
The constitution emphasizes the protection of individual liberty in an extensive catalogue of human rights and also divides powers both between the federal and state levels and between the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. In many ways, the 1949 Grundgesetz is a strong response to the perceived flaws of the failed 1919 Weimar Republic, which, in 1933, was replaced by the legal power gain of Hitler and the Third Reich. The term Weimar Republic ( ˈvaɪmarɐ repuˈbliːk is used by historians to signify the democratic and Republican period of Germany from 1919 to 1933 Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers
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Federal executive branch
The Bundeskanzler (Federal Chancellor) heads the Bundesregierung (Federal Government) and thus the executive branch of the federal government. The Head of government of Germany is called Chancellor (Kanzler The Cabinet of Germany ( German: Bundeskabinett or Bundesregierung) is the chief executive body of the Federal Republic of Germany In Political science and Constitutional law, the executive is the branch of government responsible for the day-to-day management of the State. He or she is elected by and responsible to the Bundestag, Germany's parliament. The Bundestag ("Federal Diet " or "Lower House of German Parliament" is the Parliament of Germany. Germany, like the United Kingdom, can thus be classified as a parliamentary system. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located A parliamentary system, also known as parliamentarianism (and parliamentarism in American English) is a System of government in which
The Chancellor cannot be removed from office during a 4-year term unless the Bundestag has agreed on a successor. This Constructive Vote of No Confidence is intended to avoid the situation of the Weimar Republic in which the executive did not have enough support in the legislature to govern effectively, but the legislature was too divided to name a successor. The constructive vote of no confidence (in German: konstruktives Misstrauensvotum) is a specialty of the 1949 German Constitution, the Grundgesetz
Except in the periods 1969–72 and 1976–82, when the social democratic party of Chancellor Brandt and Schmidt came in second in the elections, the Chancellor has always been the candidate of the largest party, usually supported by a coalition of two or more parties with a majority in the parliament. The Chancellor appoints a Vice-Chancellor (Vizekanzler), who is a member of his cabinet, usually the Foreign Minister. The Vice-Chancellor of Germany ( Vizekanzler) in Germany is the second highest position in the cabinet at least according to the protocol When there is a coalition government (which has, so far, always been the case, except for the period of 1957 to 1961), the Vice-Chancellor usually belongs to the smaller party of the coalition. A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a Cabinet of a parliamentary Government in which several parties cooperate
The heads of governments may change the structure of ministries whenever and however they see fit. For example, in the middle of January 2001, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture was renamed to Ministry of Consumer Protection, Food and Agriculture as a consequence of the BSE crisis. Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy ( BSE) commonly known as Mad-Cow Disease ( MCD) is a fatal Neurodegenerative disease in Cattle For that measure, competences from the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Health were transferred to the new Ministry of Consumer Protection.
Subordinate to the cabinet is the Civil service of Germany.
By contrast, the duties of the Bundespräsident (Federal President) are largely representative and ceremonial; power is exercised by the Chancellor. The President of Germany (deutscher Bundespräsident is Germany 's Head of state. The President is elected every 5 years on May 23 by the Federal Assembly (Bundesversammlung), a special body convened only for this purpose, comprising the entire Bundestag and an equal number of state delegates selected especially for this purpose in proportion to election results for the state diets. Events 1430 - Siege of Compiègne: Joan of Arc is captured by the Burgundians while leading an army to relieve Compiègne The Federal Assembly (aka Federal Convention Bundesversammlung is a special body in the institutional system of Germany, convened solely for the purpose of electing In May 2004, Horst Köhler of the CDU was elected. Horst Köhler ( born 22 February 1943) is a German politician ( CDU) and economist who serves as the current President of Germany. The Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands) is the largest Political party in Germany. The reason that the President is not popularly elected is to prevent him from gaining enough popular legitimacy to circumvent the constitution, as occurred with the Weimar Republic.
| Office | Name | Party | Since |
|---|---|---|---|
| President | Horst Köhler | --- 1) | 1 July 2004 |
| Chancellor | Angela Merkel | CDU | 22 November 2005 |
| Other government parties | SPD, CSU |
1) Although Mr. The President of Germany (deutscher Bundespräsident is Germany 's Head of state. Horst Köhler ( born 22 February 1943) is a German politician ( CDU) and economist who serves as the current President of Germany. "July 1st" redirects here For the Ayumi Hamasaki song see H (song. "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " The Head of government of Germany is called Chancellor (Kanzler (ˈaŋɡela doʁoˈteːa ˈmɛɐ̯kəl (born Angela Dorothea Kasner, 17 July 1954 in Hamburg, West Germany) is the Chancellor of Germany. The Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands) is the largest Political party in Germany. Events 498 - Kofi Aseidu- After the death of Anastasius II, Symmachus is elected Pope in the Lateran Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Köhler has been a member of the CDU the German Basic Law requests in Article 55 that the Federal President does not hold another office, practice a profession or hold a membership of any corporation. Accordingly every Federal President has let his party membership rest dormant and does not belong to a political party during his term of office.
Federal parliament
Germany has on the federal level a bicameral legislature. In Government, bicameralism (bi + Latin la ''camera'' chamber is the practice of having two legislative or Parliamentary chambers Thus a bicameral A legislature is a type of representative Deliberative assembly with the power to create amend and change Laws The law created by a legislature is called Legislation The parliament has two chambers. The Bundestag (Federal Diet) , elected for a four year term, 299 members elected in single-seat constituencies according to first-past-the-post, while a further 299 members are allocated from statewide party lists to achieve a proportional distribution in the legislature, conducted according to a system of mixed member proportional representation. A constituency is any cohesive corporate unit or body bound by shared structures goals or loyalty The plurality voting system is a Single-winner voting system often used to elect executive officers or to elect members of a legislative assembly which is based on single-member Mixed member proportional representation, also termed mixed-member proportional voting and commonly abbreviated to MMP, is an ' additional member ' Voters vote once for a constituency representative, and a second time for a party, and the lists are used to make the party balances match the distribution of second votes. In the current parliament there are 16 overhang seats, giving a total of 614. Overhang seats can arise in elections under the traditional (i This is caused by larger parties winning additional single-member districts above the totals determined by their proportional party vote. A party must receive 5% of the national vote or win at least three directly elected seats to be represented in the Bundestag. This rule, often called the "five percent hurdle", was incorporated into Germany's election law to prevent political fragmentation and strong minor parties, which was considered a major reason for the inefficiency of the Weimar Republic's Reichstag. The Reichstag ( German for "Imperial Diet " was the Parliament of the Holy Roman Empire, the North German Confederation, The first Bundestag elections were held in the Federal Republic of Germany ("West Germany") on August 14, 1949. Events 1183 - Taira no Munemori and the Taira clan take the young Emperor Antoku and the three sacred treasures Year 1949 ( MCMXLIX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Following reunification, elections for the first all-German Bundestag were held on December 2, 1990. The 12th German federal election 1990 was conducted on December 2, 1990, to elect members to the Bundestag (lower house of Germany. Events 1409 - The University of Leipzig opens 1755 - The second Eddystone Lighthouse is destroyed by fire Year 1990 ( MCMXC) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar) The last election was held on September 18, 2005, the 16th Bundestag convened on October 18, 2005. German federal elections took place on September 18, 2005 to elect the members of the 16th German Bundestag, the federal parliament of Germany Events 96 - Nerva is proclaimed Roman Emperor after Domitian is assassinated Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1009 - The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a Christian church in Jerusalem, is completely destroyed by the Fatimid Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The number of Bundestag Deputies was reduced from 656 to 598 beginning in 2002, although under the additional member system, more deputies may be admitted if a party wins more directly elected seats than it would be entitled to under proportional representation.
The Bundesrat (Federal Council) is the representation of the state governments at the federal level. The Bundesrat ("federal council" or "upper house of German parliament" is the representation of the 16 Federal States ( Bundesländer) of It consists of 69 members who are delegates of the 16 Bundesländer and usually, but not necessarily include the 16 Minister Presidents themselves. Germany (Deutschland is a Federal Republic consisting of sixteen States, known in German as Länder (singular The Länder each have from three to six votes in the Bundesrat, dependent on population. Bundesrat members receive voting instructions from their state governments.
The legislature has powers of exclusive jurisdiction and concurrent jurisdiction with the Länder in areas specifically enumerated by the Basic Law. The Bundestag bears the major responsibility. The necessity for the Bundesrat to concur on legislation is limited to bills related to revenue shared by the federal and state governments and those imposing responsibilities on the states, although in practice, this means that Bundesrat concurrence is very often required as federal legislation often has to be executed by state or local agencies.
Since the political orientation of the Bundesrat (which depends on the various state elections that occur independently of the federal ones) is quite frequently the opposite of that of the Bundestag, it has, in recent years, become more and more of a forum for the opposition parties, as opposed to one for state interests, as the constitution intended. To mitigate this effect members of the Bundestag and the Bundesrat form the Vermittlungsauschuss which seeks to build a compromise in cases when the two chambers can not agree on a certain piece of legislation.
Political parties and elections
| Parties | Constituency | Party list | Total seats | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | +/− | Seats | +/− | Votes | % | +/− | Seats | +/− | Total | +/− | % | ||||
| Christian Democratic Union *) (Christlich-Demokratische Union) | 15,390,950 | 32. The Bundestag ("Federal Diet " or "Lower House of German Parliament" is the Parliament of Germany. German federal elections took place on September 18, 2005 to elect the members of the 16th German Bundestag, the federal parliament of Germany The Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands) is the largest Political party in Germany. 6 | +0. 6 | 106 | +24 | 13,136,740 | 27. 8 | -1. 7 | 74 | -34 | 180 | -10 | 29. 3 | |||
| Christian Social Union of Bavaria *) (Christlich Soziale Union in Bayern) | 3,889,990 | 8. 2 | -0. 8 | 44 | +1 | 3,494,309 | 7. 4 | -1. 6 | 2 | -13 | 46 | -12 | 7. 5 | |||
| Social Democratic Party of Germany (Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands) | 18,129,100 | 38. 4 | -3. 5 | 145 | -26 | 16,194,665 | 34. 2 | -4. 3 | 77 | -3 | 222 | -29 | 36. 2 | |||
| Free Democratic Party (Freie Demokratische Partei) | 2,208,531 | 4. The Free Democratic Party ( Freie Demokratische Partei, FDP is a liberal Political party in Germany. 7 | +1. 1 | 0 | 0 | 4,648,144 | 9. 8 | +2. 5 | 61 | +14 | 61 | +14 | 9. 9 | |||
| The Left Party.PDS (Die Linke. This article is about the party before the merger with WASG in 2007 PDS), since 2007: The Left (Die Linke) | 3,764,168 | 8. The Left (Die Linke is a German political party that came into being on 16 June 2007 as a merger of The Left Party/PDS the former 0 | +3. 6 | 3 | +1 | 4,118,194 | 8. 7 | +4. 7 | 51 | +51 | 54 | +52 | 8. 8 | |||
| Alliance '90/The Greens (Bündnis '90/Die Grünen) | 2,538,913 | 5. The Alliance '90/The Greens ( Bündnis 90/Die Grünen) the German Green party, is a Political party in Germany whose regional 4 | -0. 2 | 1 | 0 | 3,838,326 | 8. 1 | -0. 5 | 50 | -4 | 51 | -4 | 8. 3 | |||
| National Democratic Party of Germany (Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands) | 857,777 | 1. The National Democratic Party of Germany (Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands NPD is a German pan-German nationalist and White nationalist political 8 | +1. 6 | 0 | 0 | 748,568 | 1. 6 | +1. 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0. 0 | |||
| Other | 1,272,410 | 2. 7 | – | 0 | 0 | 1,857,610 | 4. 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | |||
| Totals | 47,194,062 | 100 | – | 299 | – | 47,287,988 | 100 | – | 315 | +11 | 614 | +11 | 100 | |||
- The Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union of Bavaria call themselves "sister-parties". The Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands) is the largest Political party in Germany. They do not operate in the same regions and form one group in the Bundestag.
More info: 16th German federal election, 2005 The Federal Council is composed by representatives of the State governments. German federal elections took place on September 18, 2005 to elect the members of the 16th German Bundestag, the federal parliament of Germany
| Political profile of State governments | |
| CDU/FDP | 18 |
| CDU | 15 |
| CDU/SPD | 12 |
| SPD/CDU | 7 |
| SPD/Left Party.PDS | 4 |
| CSU | 6 |
| SPD | 4 |
| SPD/The Greens | 3 |
| Total | 69 |
Judicial branch
Since the independence of the judiciary of Germany is historically older than democracy in Germany, the organization of courts is traditionally strong, and almost all state actions are subject to judicial review. The Bundesrat ("federal council" or "upper house of German parliament" is the representation of the 16 Federal States ( Bundesländer) of The Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands) is the largest Political party in Germany. The Free Democratic Party ( Freie Demokratische Partei, FDP is a liberal Political party in Germany. The Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands) is the largest Political party in Germany. The Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands) is the largest Political party in Germany. The Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands) is the largest Political party in Germany. This article is about the party before the merger with WASG in 2007 A Green party' or ecologist party is a formally organized Political party based on the principles of Green politics. The judiciary's independence and extensive responsibilities reflect the importance of the rule of law in the German system of government Besides a so-called "ordinary" judicial branch that handles civil and criminal cases, which is in turn composed of four levels of courts up to the Bundesgerichtshof in a fairly complex appeals system, there are separate branches for administrative, tax, labour, and social security issues, each with their own hierarchies. The “ Federal Court of Justice of Germany ” ( German: “ Bundesgerichtshof ” or “ BGH ” is the highest court in the system of ordinary jurisdiction Courts are generally in the hands of the states, except for the highest courts of each branch, which are federal, respectively, to maintain a certain degree of unity in jurisdiction.
In addition, Germany has a powerful Constitutional Court, the Bundesverfassungsgericht. The Federal Constitutional Court (in German: Bundesverfassungsgericht BVerfG) is a special Court established by the Basic Law for the Federal Republic This is somewhat unique since the Grundgesetz stipulates in principle that every person may file a complaint to that court when his or her constitutional rights, especially the human rights, have been violated by the state and when he or she has exhausted all stages of appeal in the regular court system. Such actions can include laws passed by the legislative branch, court decisions, or acts of the administration. While in practice, only a small percentage of these constitutional complaints (Verfassungsbeschwerden) are successful, the Constitutional Court is known to frequently antagonise both the executive and the legislative branches with far-reaching decisions. This has even gone so far as judges openly stating that they are indifferent to the reactions of the government, the Bundestag, public opinion or any financial consequences arising from a decision with the only relevant point being the constitution. It should also be mentioned that the Bundesverfassungsgericht has very high approval rates throughout the general population. The Constitutional Court also handles several other procedures such as disputes between state institutions over their constitutional powers. It has also the power to outlaw political parties when their goals contravene the principles of the constitution. However so far the Constitutional court has only used this power twice, outlawing the KPD (Communist Party of Germany) in 1956 and the SRP (Socialist Reichs Party, a successor to the NSDAP) in 1952. The, officially National Socialist German Workers' Party, ( abbreviated NSDAP) was a Political party in Germany between 1919 and 1945
Recent political issues
"Red-Green" vs. Conservative-led coalitions
In the 1998 election the SPD emphasized commitment to reducing persistently high unemployment and appealed to voters' desire for new faces after 16 years of Helmut Kohl's government. Unemployment occurs when a person is available to work and currently seeking work but the person is without work. Helmut Josef Michael Kohl (born 3 April 1930 is a German conservative politician and statesman Gerhard Schröder positioned himself as a centrist "Third Way" candidate in the mold of Britain's Tony Blair and America's Bill Clinton--he was critiqued as "Clintonblair" by some newspaper sources throughout his election campaign. ˌɡeɐ̯haɐ̯t fʁɪʦ kʊɐ̯t ˈʃʁøːdɐ (born 7 April 1944 German politician, was Chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005 In Politics, centrism usually refers to the political ideal of promoting Moderate policies which land in the middle ground between different political extremes The Third Way is a term that has been used to describe a variety of political philosophies of governance that embracing a mix of market and interventionist philosophies Anthony Charles Lynton "Tony" Blair (born 6 May 1953 is a British Politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III, August 19 1946 served as the forty-second President of the United States The CDU/CSU stood on its record of economic performance and experience in foreign policy. The Kohl government was hurt at the polls by slower growth in the east in the past two years, widening the economic gap between east and west. The final margin of victory was sufficiently high to permit a "red-green" coalition of the SPD with Alliance '90/The Greens (Bündnis '90/Die Grünen), bringing the Greens into a national government for the first time. The Alliance '90/The Greens ( Bündnis 90/Die Grünen) the German Green party, is a Political party in Germany whose regional The first months of the new government were marked by policy disputes between the moderate and traditional left wings of the SPD, resulting in some voter disaffection. The first state election after the federal election was held in Hesse in February 1999. Hesse (Hessen is a state of Germany with an area The CDU increased its vote by 3. 5% to emerge as the largest party, and was able to replace an SPD/Green coalition with a CDU/FDP coalition. The result was interpreted in part as a referendum on the federal government's proposed new citizenship law, which would have eased requirements for long-time foreign residents to obtain citizenship, and permitted them to retain their original citizenship as well. German citizenship is based primarily on the principle of Jus sanguinis.
In March 1999, SPD chairman and Minister of Finance Oskar Lafontaine, who represented a more traditional social democratic position, resigned from all offices after losing a party-internal power struggle against Schröder. Oskar Lafontaine (ˈlafɔntɛn born September 16, 1943 in Saarlouis -Roden is a German Politician, former German finance minister
In state elections in 2000 and 2001, the respective SPD- or CDU-led coalition governments were re-elected into power.
The next election for the Bundestag was September 22, 2002. Events 66 - Emperor Nero creates the Legion I Italica. 1236 - The Lithuanians See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. Gerhard Schröder led the coalition of SPD and Greens to an 11 seat victory over the conservative challengers headed by Edmund Stoiber (CSU). Edmund Rüdiger Stoiber ( (born September 28, 1941) is a German politician, former Minister-president of the state Two factors are generally cited that enabled Schröder to win the elections despite poor approval ratings a few months before: good handling of the 2002 European floods and firm opposition to the USA's 2003 invasion of Iraq. In August 2002 a 100-year flood caused by over a week of continuous heavy rains ravaged Europe, killing dozens dispossessing thousands and causing damage of The 2003 invasion of Iraq, from March 20 to May 1 2003 was spearheaded by the United States, backed by British forces and smaller contingents from Australia
The coalition treaty for the second red-green coalition was signed October 16, 2002. A coalition is an alliance among individuals during which they cooperate in joint action, each in their own Self-interest. Events 456 - Magister militum Ricimer defeats the Emperor Avitus at Piacenza and becomes master of the western See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. With a significantly changed cabinet (see below), Schröder and Fischer began their second term.
Conservative comeback
In February 2003, elections took place in the states of Hesse and Lower Saxony, both leading to overwhelming victories for the conservatives. Lower Saxony ( German: Niedersachsen ch is pronounced before an s --> lies in north-western Germany and is second In Hesse, the CDU minister president Roland Koch was re-elected, with his party CDU gaining enough seats to govern without the former coalition partner FDP. Roland Koch (born March 24 1958 in Frankfurt am Main) is a German Politician and acting Minister-President of The Free Democratic Party ( Freie Demokratische Partei, FDP is a liberal Political party in Germany. In Lower Saxony, the former SPD minister president Sigmar Gabriel lost the elections, leading to a CDU/FDP-government headed by new minister president Christian Wulff (CDU). Sigmar Gabriel (born 12 September 1959 in Goslar) is a German politician ( SPD) See also Christian Wolff. Christian Wulff (born June 19 1959 in Osnabrück) is a German politician Both elections were seen as symptomatic for a widespread criticism against the federal red-green government.
The protest against the Iraq war changed this situation a bit, favouring SPD and Greens.
The latest election in the state of Bavaria led to a landslide victory of the conservatives, gaining not just the majority (as usual), but two thirds of parliamentary seats. Bavaria ( German:, with an area of 70553 Km² (27241 square miles and almost 12
In April 2003, chancellor Schröder announced massive labor market reforms, called Agenda 2010, that among other measures include a shakeup of the system of German job offices, cuts in unemployment benefits and subsidies for unemployed persons who start their own businesses. The Agenda 2010 is a series of reforms planned and executed by the German government which they say will modernise the German social system and labor market These changes are commonly known by the name of the chairman of the commission which conceived them as Hartz I - Hartz IV. The Hartz concept is the name given to the recommendations resulting from a commission on reforms to the German labour market in 2002. Although these reforms have sparked massive protests they are now credited with being in part responsible for the economic upswing and the fall of unemployment figures in Germany in the years 2006/7.
The European elections on June 13, 2004 brought a staggering defeat for the Social Democrats, who polled only slightly more than 21%, the lowest election result for the SPD in a nationwide election since the Second World War. Events 1525 - Martin Luther marries Katharina von Bora, against the Celibacy rule decreed by the Roman Catholic Church for "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " Liberals, Greens, conservatives and the far left were the winners of the European election in Germany, because voters were disillusioned by high unemployment and cuts in social security, while the governing SPD party seems to be concerned with quarrels between the party wings and unable to give any clear direction. Many observers believe that this election marked the beginning of the end of the Schröder government and indicates a process in which the SPD party seems to shrink and/or fall apart.
Rise of the Right
In September 2004, elections were held in the states of Saarland, Brandenburg and Saxony. Saarland (ˈzaːɐ̯lant in German; French: Sarre) is one of the 16 federal states (German Bundesländer) of Germany. Brandenburg ( Lower Sorbian: Bramborska; Upper Sorbian: Braniborska) is one of the sixteen states of Germany. The Free State of Saxony (Freistaat Sachsen ˈzaksən Swobodny Stat Sakska is the easternmost federal state of Germany. In the Saarland, the governing CDU was able to remain in power and gained one additional seat in the parliament and the SPD lost seven seats, while the Liberals and Greens were able to re-enter state parliament. The far-right National Democratic Party, which had never got more than 1 or 2% of the vote, received about 4%, although it failed to earn a seat in the state parliament (a party must obtain at least 5% of the vote to achieve state parliamentary representation). Far right, extreme right, ultra-right, or radical right are terms used to discuss the qualitative or quantitative position a group The National Democratic Party of Germany (Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands NPD is a German pan-German nationalist and White nationalist political
Two weeks later, elections were held in the eastern states of Brandenburg and Saxony: once again, overall, the ruling parties lost votes and although they remained in power, the right to far-right parties made the big leaps. In Brandenburg, the Deutsche Volksunion (DVU) re-entered the state parliament after winning 6. The German People's Union (Deutsche Volksunion DVU is a Nationalist Political party in Germany. 1% of the vote. In Saxony, the NPD entered a non-competition agreement with the DVU and obtained 9. 2% of the vote, thus winning seats in the state parliament. Due to their losses at the ballots, the ruling CDU of Saxony was forced to form a coalition with the SPD. The rise of the right to far-right is a trend that worries the ruling political parties.
German federal election 2005
On May 22, 2005 as predicted the SPD took a devastating defeat in its former heartland, North Rhine-Westphalia. Events 334 BC - The Greek army of Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of the Granicus. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. North Rhine-Westphalia (Nordrhein-Westfalen usually shortened to NRW, official short form NW is the westernmost and - in terms of population and economic output - the Half an hour after the election results, the SPD chairman Franz Müntefering announced that the chancellor would clear the way for premature federal elections by the means of a purposely lost vote of confidence. (born January 16, 1940) is a German politician He was Chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SPD from 2004 to 2005 and is expected to assume This took the republic by surprise, especially because the SPD was below 25% in polls at the time. On the following Monday the CDU announced Angela Merkel as conservative candidate for chancellorship, aspiring to be the first female chancellor in German history. (ˈaŋɡela doʁoˈteːa ˈmɛɐ̯kəl (born Angela Dorothea Kasner, 17 July 1954 in Hamburg, West Germany) is the Chancellor of Germany.
Whereas in May and June 2005 victory of the conservatives seemed highly likely, with some polls giving them an absolute majority, this picture changed shortly before the election at September 18, 2005, especially after the conservatives introduced Paul Kirchhof as potential minister of the treasury, and after a TV duel between Merkel and Schröder where many considered Schröder to have performed better. Events 96 - Nerva is proclaimed Roman Emperor after Domitian is assassinated Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Paul Kirchhof (born February 21 1943 in Osnabrück) is a German Jurist and Tax law expert
New for the 2005 election was the alliance between the newly formed Electoral Alternative for Labor and Social Justice (WASG) and the PDS, planning to fuse into a common party (see Left Party.PDS). Labour and Social Justice – The Electoral Alternative (Arbeit und soziale Gerechtigkeit – Die Wahlalternative WASG) was a German political party founded The Left (Die Linke is a German political party that came into being on 16 June 2007 as a merger of The Left Party/PDS the former With the former SPD chairman Oskar Lafontaine for the WASG and Gregor Gysi for the PDS as prominent figures, this alliance soon found interest in the media and in the population. Gregor Gysi (ˈgiːzi born January 16, 1948) is a German Attorney and key politician of the Left Party. Polls in July saw them as high as 12%.
After success in the state election for Saxony, the alliance between the far right parties National Democratic Party and Deutsche Volksunion (DVU), which planned to leapfrog the "five-percent hurdle" on a common party ticket was another media issue. The Free State of Saxony (Freistaat Sachsen ˈzaksən Swobodny Stat Sakska is the easternmost federal state of Germany.
The election results of September 18, 2005 were surprising insofar as they differed widely from the polls of the previous weeks. Events 96 - Nerva is proclaimed Roman Emperor after Domitian is assassinated Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The conservatives lost votes compared to 2002, reaching only 35%, and failed to get a majority for a "black-yellow" government of CDU/CSU and liberal FDP. The FDP polled a stunning 10% of the votes, one of their best results ever. But the red-green coalition also failed to get a majority, with the SPD losing votes, but polling 34% and the greens staying at 8%. The left party alliance reached 8. 7% and entered the German Parliament, whereas the NPD only got 1. 6%.
The most likely outcome of coalition talks was a so-called "grand coalition" between the conservatives (CDU/CSU) and the social democrats (SPD), with the three smaller parties (liberals, greens and the left) in the opposition. A grand coalition is a Coalition government in a Multi-party Parliamentary system where the two largest political parties unite in a coalition Other possible coalitions include a "traffic light coalition" between SPD, FDP and Greens and a "Jamaica coalition" between CDU/CSU, FDP and Greens. Traffic light coalition (German"Ampelkoalition" is a term originating in German politics where it describes a Coalition of the Social Democratic Party Jamaica coalition ( German: Jamaika-Koalition; also known as the Jamaica alliance, Jamaica traffic light, black traffic light Coalitions involving the Left Party have been ruled out by all parties (including the Left Party itself), although the combination of one of the major parties and any two small parties would mathematically have a majority. Of these combinations, only a red-red-green coalition is politically even imaginable. Both Gerhard Schröder and Angela Merkel announced that they had won the election and should become next chancellor.
On October 10, talks were held between Franz Müntefering, the SPD chairman, Gerhard Schröder, Angela Merkel and Edmund Stoiber, the CSU chairman. Events 680 - Battle of Karbala: Shia Imam Husayn bin Ali, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, is decapitated In the afternoon it was announced that the CDU/CSU and SPD would begin formal coalition negotiations with the aim of a Grand Coalition with Angela Merkel as the next German chancellor.
Angela Merkel is the first woman, the first East German and the first scientist to be chancellor as well as the youngest German chancellor ever. On November 22, 2005 Angela Merkel was sworn in by president Horst Köhler for the office of Bundeskanzlerin. Events 498 - Kofi Aseidu- After the death of Anastasius II, Symmachus is elected Pope in the Lateran Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
The CDU party has been the most dominative party out of the three which has been supported by 5 of the chancellors (including Angela Merkel).
Foreign relations
See also
- Political culture of Germany
- German emergency legislature
- German federal election, 2005
- List of political parties in Germany
- Composition of the German Regional Parliaments
External links
- Official Site of the Bundesregierung
- Official source of election results
- Official source from the German Embassy in Washington, DC
The Federal Republic of Germany is a Central European country and member of the European Union, Group of 8 and NATO (among others The political culture of Germany as of the early 21st century is known for the popular expectation for governments to ensure a degree of Social welfare, business and labour The German Emergency Acts were passed on 30 May 1968 at the time of the First Grand Coalition between the Social Democratic Party of Germany German federal elections took place on September 18, 2005 to elect the members of the 16th German Bundestag, the federal parliament of Germany This is a list of political parties in Germany. Germany has a Multi-party system with two large parties three substantial smaller parties and a number of minor Germany's federal system comprises 16 state parliaments ( Landesparlamente) each including directly elected representatives
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