Bundestag

acting as the government and country’s representative and a Bundestag, or Parliament (equivalent to our House), made up of elected officials, and a Bundesrat, or Second Chamber (equivalent to our Senate), made of federal state representatives. Bundestag members are elected every four years, with the President being elected every five through a combination of Bundestag and members elected by the states. In comparison with the President of the United States, the German Federal President does not have the power of the veto (10). Germany currently has a 5 party system. For any party to have representation within the government, however, they must pass the “5 percent hurdle” which declares that to be represented the Bundestag, a party must have at least 5 percent popular vote. At the moment, only four of the parties are represented in the Bundestag, the FDP, Free Democratic Party, not being represented for the first time since 1949. The other parties are the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU), often combined with the Christian Social Union (CSU), together they hold 41.5 percent of the popular vote and 310 seats in the Bundestag; the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), which holds 25.7 percent popular vote and 193 seats; Die Linke “The Left”, which holds 8.6 percent popular vote and 64 seats; and Büdnis 90/die Grünen “Alliance 90/the Greens”, which holds 8.6 percent popular vote and 63 seats in the Bundestag (10). Legal System: Germany has a strong standing…

The Bundestag is the lower house of Germany’s legislative branch and represents the interests of the populace. Not only does the Bundestag elect the Chancellor, proposals for laws must start here, where the lower house will debate on it three times. During this process, committees may amend the original proposal to satisfy the interests of other parties or interest groups. By the third debate, the Bundestag votes and if it meets the necessary number, it passes to the Bundesrat for approval. The…

business. Hitler accused communists for the incident; as a result, he enforced emergency powers and claimed near-complete authority, which lasted until Germany’s fall in World War ll and his death in 1945 (Tobias, 1964). Reichstag was heavily wrecked by World War ll battles that caused more damage to the building due to air raids and allied bombs (Flippo, n.d.). The photograph captured the wreckage and chaos of that period a soldier sitting on a 88m gun, with the ruins of the building lying…

can remove the Prime Minister from power. The Prime Minister is also a member of parliament. When considering Germany, the executive and legislative portions of government are also balanced. Germany has two houses in the legislative branch: the Bundestag and the Bundesrat ("Germany - The Legislature"). The Bundestag has the ability to select the federal Chancellor and also to oversee the executive branch on issues of policy and administration ("Germany - The Legislature"). While the executive…

Konrad and his son were sent to prison camps for being protestors of the Nazis, or anti-Nazis (“Konrad Adenauer and The Christian Democratic Union In West Germany”). Adenauer became chairman of the new party, the German Christian Democratic Union, for the whole of West Germany. In the first general held elections under the new leader, his party and their regular ally won 139 of the 402 seats in the Bundestag. Adenauer worked to create a new form of government, and to get it approved.…

The flow of refugees was seen as the people wanting to escape the zone because they were fully aware of their hopelessness in the situation. The refugees abandoning their homeland was believed to be the only way of to be able to practice their self-determination. The thought that “these people have shown the world what they really want: they want freedom, not bondage (Speech to the Bundestag Condemning the Wall, Konrad Adenauer), shows that the wall was a form of demeaning those within the…

There are sixteen judges and eight from the Bundesrat and Bundestag. This can also be a lengthy process and many factors can play a part. They are elected for a twelve year term and must be at least 40 years old and must also retire at age 68. The German judges are a little different than American judges in their careers as Alex Dragnich reads “Thus, being a judge is a career that one chooses early in life, rather than coming to it at middle age after years of private law practice, as is the…

I am motivated and passionate about advancing my understanding of cultural practices in Germany, as well as improving my conversational abilities, and increasing my understanding of the language. Coupled with my passion of the language, culture, and politics, I also have an interest in American civics and governmental structure. The Congress Bundestag Exchange would allow me the opportunity to share my interest of politics, as well as many other aspects of American life with a host family and…

percentage of votes and the number of seats for the PCF since 1973 until today. All the international and national shifts and changes which occurred forced the PCF and many other communist parties to implement more moderate policies and goals. II. The Left Party (Germany) Die Linke (German) is a left-wing democratic socialist party in Germany founded in 2007 as a result of merging the Party of Democratic Socialism and the WASG. Democratic socialism and anti-capitalism are the party’s main goal.…

for a group’s ideas in government, to do it for them. They are also more easily organized and have more members which gives them more power overall. Member contributions to the cause is one of the important ways in which interest groups get their money in the first place. These are the larger groups, but there are also many small groups that do not have the same level of influence. Of over 600,000 clubs that exist within the country of Germany, only a small portion of these get to the federal…