Current Regime
Germany’s current government is a Parliamentary Republic. The lower house of German Parliament is the Bundestag. The Bundestag contains six hundred twenty-two members, using proportional representation for parties to gain seats in the house. In elections, voters cast ballots for parties rather than individuals, and the parties appoint elected Representatives seats in Parliament. The primary responsibility of the Bundestag is to pass laws, but they also decide the federal budget and deploy the Bundeswher (federal armed forces) outside of Germany. They also elect the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister, currently Angela Merkel, is generally, but not always, elected as the leader of the party with majority in the Bundestag. When there is no party with a majority, coalitions can be formed between two or more political parties with the leader of the coalition being elected Prime Minister. The Prime Minister, or Chancellor, is responsible for all federal policies, and serves four year terms without term limits. Angela Merkel is both the first female Chancellor and the first Chancellor raised in Eastern Germany. The president, currently Joachim Gauck, is a ceremonial figurehead that signs laws and appoints cabinet members at the Prime Minister’s suggestion, but otherwise does not have very much power. The President is elected by six hundred twenty representatives from the Bundestag and six hundred twenty from the states, or Länder. The German Länder governments each appoint representatives without set terms to a sixty-nine seat house of Parliament called the Bundesrat.
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Passionate German Politician
The duty of the Bundesrat is to ratify laws. The Federal Government must bestow legislation to the Bundesrat before it can be presented to the Bundestag. The Bundesverfassungsgericht is the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany. Half of the members of the Bundesverfassungsgericht are elected by the Bundesrat and the other half by the Bundestag. They can serve only one term of twelve years with a mandatory retirement at age sixty-eight. The Court can review laws to ensure that they are constitutional, but they can also declare laws to be unconstitutional.
In descending order, the major political parties in Germany are the Christian Democratic Union, the Social Democratic Party, the Free Democratic Party, The Left, The Greens, and the Christian Social Union. Currently the Christian Democratic Union, Christian Social Union, and the Free Democratic Party have a coalition, giving Angela Merkel the Prime Minister position. Prime Minister Merkel is a member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). There are also many minority parties that garmer few votes, but parties must have at least five percent of the vote to be given representation in the Bundestag. This is done to prevent unpopular or extremist parties from having any power in government. This prevents parties from doing as the Nazi Party did in the late 1920s. The CDU is the most right-wing major political party in Germany. It promotes "family values" as well as fiscally conservative policies. The SPD was originally a Marxist Party that became more conservative over the years to become a Liberal Party. They believe in capitalism, but they also believe that the government should provide services where the private industry fails. The FDP is fiscally liberal and they also rally for human rights. The FDP is consistently the smallest of the three aforementioned parties.
In descending order, the major political parties in Germany are the Christian Democratic Union, the Social Democratic Party, the Free Democratic Party, The Left, The Greens, and the Christian Social Union. Currently the Christian Democratic Union, Christian Social Union, and the Free Democratic Party have a coalition, giving Angela Merkel the Prime Minister position. Prime Minister Merkel is a member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). There are also many minority parties that garmer few votes, but parties must have at least five percent of the vote to be given representation in the Bundestag. This is done to prevent unpopular or extremist parties from having any power in government. This prevents parties from doing as the Nazi Party did in the late 1920s. The CDU is the most right-wing major political party in Germany. It promotes "family values" as well as fiscally conservative policies. The SPD was originally a Marxist Party that became more conservative over the years to become a Liberal Party. They believe in capitalism, but they also believe that the government should provide services where the private industry fails. The FDP is fiscally liberal and they also rally for human rights. The FDP is consistently the smallest of the three aforementioned parties.