You may be saying
to yourself: American politics are a total mess and I can’t handle paying
attention to this shit-show, so what’s going on in global politics?
To which I would answer:
Hey NERD!
Welcome, you’re amongst friends. But to answer your question, well, considering
how the future of the European Union is, at very least, in a precarious
position, all eyes turn to Germany as they prepare to hold their most consequential
set of elections.
To say that
the various electoral processes and systems around the world are difficult to
understand in comparison to one another would be a very fair statement. But to
suggest that the German electoral and parliamentary system is particularly convoluted
would be an understatement. At first glance, the process created to elect the members
of the German government seems far more complicated and difficult than others,
and possibly more so than necessary. But when you consider the… let’s say, regrettable
(genocidal) kerfuffles… that have happened over the course of German history,
it makes sense that the system that would be put in place in response to this
dark history, would be intricate and as incorruptible and carefully constructed
as possible.
So, alright fine, it makes sense
for the German government to be delicately fashioned and cared for, but does it
have to be such an indirect, multi-step, convoluted system? It may be hard to
see how a system that seems to be even less of a direct democracy than the
United States could be a preferable system for a country with a history of disastrous
political decisions. But upon further examination of this complex system, it is
hard not to see it’s clever and sensible benefits.
The most
important position in the executive branch is the Chancellor. This role, currently
filled by Angela Merkel (known by some in Germany as “mummy” Merkel for her reputation
as being a safe and stabilizing leader for more than a decade,) is comparable to
the American President in that the Chancellor leads the country legislatively
and politically. This is basically where the similarities end. The process for
putting a Chancellor in power is entirely different from what most of us are familiar
with in the US.
The Chancellor
is not even remotely “directly elected” by the German people. While in the US,
there is a popular vote for the President, giving American voters the illusion
of being personally responsible for the election of their leader, the German
process for filling it’s highest office is purely representative democracy.
So, if the
German people do not elect the Chancellor, then why is this upcoming election
important? Who are the German people voting for? How do the results effect the
make-up of the German government? The answers to these questions become clearer
by looking at the houses of the parliament, how the members of parliament are
chosen and what the parliament is responsible for.
Like many parliamentary
systems, the German Parliament is broken into an upper house (Bundesrat) and a lower house (Bundestag). But different than many
parliamentary systems, both houses are of relatively similar importance. This
is due to their division of duties as well as their ability to act as checks
and balances on the other, in much the same way that the US Senate and House of
Representatives function together. The differences between the duties of the Bundesrat and the Bundestag are obviously important to know in order to understand
the way the government works on a day to day basis. But while the specific differences
do explain the reasons for such an intricate system, we’re only going to focus
on what part they play in appointing a Chancellor.
The Bundesrat is the smaller of the two
houses and its members are chosen by direct democratic vote as the
representative of a specific constituency within one of Germany’s sixteen
states. The Bundesrat is essentially
where the Federal and State governments converge to hear what the other has to
say and work together to promote cohesion between the two. The function that
the Bundesrat provides in the context
of appointing a Chancellor is their role in choosing Germany’s President.
Yep, Germany also has a President.
While there are some very
consequential powers that the President does technically have, (dissolving the Bundestag, vetoing laws,) it is very
rare for this to happen in practice. Mostly making state visits and
entertaining important visitors to the country, the role of the President is largely
ceremonial, except for one job. It is the President, elected by the Bundesrat, who appoints their choice for
Chancellor which will then be voted on by the lower house of Parliament, the Bundestag.
The Bundestag is the larger of the two
houses of Parliament and is the focus of the upcoming German election. The impending
“Bundestagswahl”, or general election,
will determine the proportional representation of political parties within the Bundestag. Since no one party is likely
to hold a majority on its own within the house, the need for coalition building
between disparate parties becomes necessary to create a majority that can generate
the votes required to pass laws and enact legislation.
The electing of representatives to the Bundestag is where it may begin to feel like I’m just messing with
you. I assure you, I am not.
Every German voter is given a
ballot with two votes they can make. The first vote is a straight forward vote
for a single person, with or without a party affiliation, whom the voter would
like to represent their constituency in the Bundestag.
The winner of this first vote, within a constituency, in a state, is
automatically given a seat in the Bundestag.
The second vote on the ballot is a
vote for a political party, not an individual. The second vote determines how
many seats each political party will hold in the house in comparison to one
another. The number of political parties with representation in the Bundestag is determined by how many
parties received at least five percent of the vote during the Bundestagswahl. The lowest number of parties
represented in this body since the enactment of this system was three, during
the 1960’s. There have been periods during which there have been five parties
represented, but currently there are four parties represented in the Bundestag. There is a strong possibility
that there may be six after this next Bundestagswahl.
The total number of representatives also changes depending on the apportionment
of party representatives. While the base number is 598 representatives from
different parties, there are currently 631 seats and that number may grow to
800 depending on the results of the election.
I know,
that wasn’t a ton of fun, but now we’re getting somewhere. So now that:
1.
the Bundesrat
has chosen a President,
2.
the President has appointed their choice for Chancellor,
3.
the members of the Bundestag have been voted into their seats,
4.
the parties have compromised with each other and
coalesced into groups, one being large enough to establish a majority,
then finally, that majority coalition can now vote to elect
the President’s appointment for Chancellor.
Essentially, the results of the Bundestagswahl will determine the
political landscape of the German Parliament, the coalitions that will form
between parties and the legislative compromises they will have to make to form them,
and therefore, who will be elected as Chancellor.
Based on recent polling, currently
it is looking very likely that some form of coalition including Angela Merkel’s
“Christian Democrat Union” (CDU) party will be able to form after the election
and therefore Merkel will remain chancellor for her fourth consecutive term.
But considering how we have seen such shocking political upheavals across the
world, (Trump, Brexit, the close race between Macron and LePen in France,) it
is certainly worth keeping an eye on the precarious nature of any, and all
powerful governments, across the world. Especially when it comes to the richest
and most influential country in the EU. That
is why this upcoming election on September 24th matters.
