Wednesday, February 06, 2008
INTRO
Proportional Representation
German mixes plurality and proportional representation
Go to:
Basic Institutions:
-Federal state consisting of 16 states called Laender
-NationalState, federal government, and state governments share power on number of different issue
-Not our federalism but “layer cake” federalism because gov collects taxes, set tax rates and lander do not tax citizens directly but do it via federal govn’t: since fed has power to tax, they have controlling hand on budgets
-Devolved issues to states due to different between different parts of germany: cultural, educational issues including administration of citizzinship tests are administered by Lander
-Lander don’t have to share power with national government but government can control states in certain ways
-(Const. convention 47 – 48: American decided that German state should not be allowed to be remade; Morgenthau plan called for comprehensive disillusion of any German state and should be cut up into three state so greater Germany would not rise again idea never realized because of conflicts between USSR and US; instead, post-war period created two states (Federal (West) and German Republics)and basic institutions of 1949 were superimposed on E. Germany when reunified; Kohl wanted new constitutional convention)
-Instead of 11 Landers, are now 16 and
Prim Minister/Chancellor
-Party leader of majority party/ government in same way that Britain has PM
-Chancellor is head of government and head of state (monarch in Britain’s constitutional monarchy; France has republic with President head of state and PM head of government) is appointed President
-Chancellor is elected from majority party because he/ she can put majority together
-Current president is weak and has ceremonial powers
Other Institutions
-Independent court and independent bank
-Concept of checks and balances is foreign to most of Europe but one thing that US superimposed on W. Germany in ’49.
-Took court some time to find own footing; only 1956 that asserted itself when it forced to change civic code from Bismarck’s time: patriarchy part of code (woman could not do many things without husband’s permission) and court amended
-Court part of sudden shift toward greater understanding of role of courts in protecting basic rights
-Recently, constitutional court has refused to undo problematic citizenship tests that have prevented Muslims from becoming citizens and has refused to undo ban on head scarves ( crosses can be displayed in public schools)
Checks and Balances
-Insititutional primary frameworks: independent monetary bank
- Unusually phenomenon but model in Europe because new EU bank that governs euro has been set up for insulation of political influence
- Independent bank to prevent hyperinflation from 1920s
-Independent Court of Federalism
-These two were primary US contributions
Asymmetrical Bicameralism
-What varies is extent to which upper chamber’s prerogatives
-Bundesrat: upper house, indirectly elected, conroled by 16 lander, representatives appointed by Lander except Lander are different size and number of representatives depends on size of state; there is overrepresentation of smaller states
-Bundesrat indirectly elected through electoral college; composition of bundesrat changes at every election
-Less powerful than US senate but more powerful than British house of lords
-Bundestag: directly elected chamber where most bills are introduced
-Rat must approve Amendentsments to constitution and tax law
-Federal state have influence on budget and taxation through Bundesrat
-If Bundesrat fails to approve a bill, Bundestag can override by 2/3 majority
-IN recent years, elections close and Germany experienced divided government (different majority in upper and lower hosue)
Protestant part became Communist part
Christian Democrat Party used to be Catholic Party and Protestants used to be for Socialists
Electoral System
-Every voter has two ballots used on same day
-First vote: individuals listed from different parties; personal vote where each party puts primary candidate up; second ballot has party listed first (“party vote”);
-Two procedures for two ballots
-First ballot: single member district plurality system one person elected
-Second vote decides overall allocation of seats in Bundestag
-Half seats of bundestag decided by each method
-Hybrid method that should ensure that
-Problem: if anyone party gets more delegates than percent on second ballot
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Federal Republic of Germany (west) and Democratic German Republic (east)
Political Parties
With unification, west german style extended to east
Communist party of east germany lives on as socialist unity party or Unity Party; after unification they wer only successful in East, but now in West too.
Since 1990, far right severely fragmented
(p 194 in RDGE)
Beneficiaries of unification have been the right
IN 1990, Kohl and Christian Democrats accused of buying votes in East Germany he allowed East Germany mark to be converted at parity to west german mark when West was common currency this put a lot of money into pockets of east germans; money went into buying cars
SDP assumed socialists would vote for them
Far Right Parties: Republicans and German People’s Party
POST-WAR AND RISE OF SPD
CDP dominated post-war history
Allies did not get along with Social democrats
FDR’s New Deal did not take hold in Germany and German Social Democrats thought that meant true socialism meant naturalization of everything and US did not work them
CDP ruled Germany until 1969 when SPD got back into power
Despite SPD having large support and Germany’s one of older powers, never managed to get into government power until 1969
Leader and eventual Chancellor was Willy Brant: modern socialism,
Fall of Willy Brandt: chief advisor slept with Soviet Spy
IN 1982, they lost power to CDU/CSU coalition under Kohl
SPD got into power because liberals switched allegiance
CDU has come close to having 50% in 1957 (almost enough to goern on own)
In contrast to English:
Represents fairly distribution of votes between parties (proportional)
No built in bias to favor larger party
No winner take all
Forming government becomes complicated and leads to coaltions
Green Party
Product of 1968 and youth rebellion
Formed by far left, neo-marxist academics
Leader was Joschka Fischer
Red-Green alliance allowed Fisher to become foreing minister
Coalitions
Grand Coaltion: Majority plus government
Grand: Two largest parties have more votes needed to form gov
Liberals and social democrats + greens and social democrats were different kind of coalition: minimal winning coalition smallest number of parties put together to have majority
Election of 2002:
Green and SPD coalition (government ruled) received more votes than CDP and FDP coalition even though CDU got most votes of any single party
2005:
PDS acted as spoiler party and stole votes from center left
Talk of Red-Red-Greens coalitions but SPD and Greens agreed couldn’t do that because former communists are anti-immigrant whereas Greens aren’t.
Economic policy also major factor
Took three months to form government – aspect of proportional government which produces coalition governments and long periods of negotiation over who forms government
This is norm over