Federal Republic of Germany

1
Federal Republic of Germany

• Parliament and the Executive

2
Parties

• Left Party
• Former PDS (ex-Communists) SPD left (Le
  Fontaine wing)
• Greens (die Grünen)
• SPD
• CDU/CSU
• FDP
• Republikkaner

3
Party system

• A moderate multiparty system
• 5 parties represented in the Bundestag
• Parties disagree on extent of government
  intervention, as well as foreign policy, but
• Substantial areas of agreement
• Commitment to social market economy, welfare
  state, Europe

4
German federalism

• Administrative or cooperative federalism
• rather than dual or executive federalism
• Substantial powers given to laender
• in practice many are shared
• Division of labour
• the federal government legislates and the laender
  governments administer
• Quid pro quo laender govts directly
  represented in the upper chamber (Bundesrat)
  have strong voice in government policy

5
The Chancellor

• Constitutional position -- strong
• Elected by the Bundestag (lower house)
• Appoints the cabinet
• Constitutionally charged with responsibility for
  overall government policy
• Can only be removed through a positive vote of
  non-confidence (Bundestag must elect a
  replacement)

6
Bicameral Parliament

• Lower house or Bundestag elected by MMP (mixed
  member proportional)
• Strong committee system, staffed by experts
  (often with ties to interest groups
• Upper house of Bundesrat consists of delegations
  of 3-6 ministers from laender governments

7
Interplay between federal and provincial politics

• Federal provincial party systems generally
  parallel, with parties inter-connected
• Exceptions Bavaria, eastern laender..
• Laender elections as second order election
• barometers for upcoming federal elections

8
Policy-making

• Consultative and generally consensual
• Organized interests laender governments
  intensively involved
• Policy decisions as product of ongoing, but
  generally quiet negotiation

9
Limits on the chancellors power

• Basic law also gives cabinet ministers
  constitutional responsibility for their own
  departments
• Political limits
• Multiparty politics
• Coalition government In order get power, a
  chancellor must share power
• Need to pilot legislation through both the
  Bundestag (lower house) and the Bundesrat
  (Federal Council, in which laender (provincial
  governments) have a veto

10
German Chancellors

• Relatively few in number
• Konrad Adenauer CDU (1949-63)
• Ludwig Erhard CDU (1963-66)
• Kurt Kiesinger CDU (1966-69)
• Willie Brandt SPD (1969-1974)
• Helmut Schmidt SPD (1974-82)
• Helmut Kohl CDU (1982-98)
• Gerhard Schroeder SPD (1998-2005)
• Angela Merkel (2005-present

11
Chancellors and their power

• Political position
• Typically
• leader of the largest party
• Winner of the last election
• Position within cabinet
• Unlike British PM, unable to shuffle at will
• However, strong backing from the chancellery
  like the Cabinet Secretariat, a strong central
  agency
• Need to maintain political authority within his
  party and the country as a whole

12
Stronger and weaker chancellors

• Stronger
• Adenauer
• Schmidt
• Kohl
• Middling
• Kiesinger
• Brandt
• Schroeder

• Weaker
• Erhard

13
Gerhard Schroeders position

• Leads a divided SPD
• Narrowly based coalition
• SPD and Greens had a narrow 10 seat majority
• Decreasing popularity
• Impact of recent provincial elections
• Uncertain international stature

14
Angela Merkel

• Growing stature
• But need to work with SPD. While placating
  interests in her own party

15
Contrasts with Britain France

• Ability of political executive to get what he or
  she wants?
• Influence of parliament
• Contrasts in degree of centralization in
• Administration
• Policy processes

16
Problems

• Ossies v. Wessies assimilating the east
• Maintaining the industrial base
• Reforming the welfare state
• The wende that wasn t
• Sonderweg no more Is Germany becoming a
  normal country?