Germany`s Political System (17-01-05)

A seminar on the German Political system was delivered to us by Mr Tangredi.

In studying a political system of any country, it is always imperative to understand the history of that country because history not only shapes the laws of the country but also the political system. There is no single definition of politics but I agree with the one adopted by Mr Tangredi which is broad enough to include an ordinary man on the street. It is also in line with my own definition of a politician which is "every human being striving to achieve a certain goal".

German history is characterised by instability and desire for integration. It then became important for the post- war Germany to develop a system that would not lead to history repeating itself amongst the Germans.

Hence they have the four ´fundamental principles which are

1. Democracy which means that authority emanates from the people. In South Africa we would say the "people shall govern".
I think therefore it follows automatically that to achieve any peace democracy must be one of your most important values as GERMANY.

2. The second principle is that the rule of law is supreme, which means that checks and balances are applied over all sectors of the government and that ensures independence of the judiciary, which is lacking in many countries.That is well protected and embodied in the constitution of Germany.

3. Social welfare: ,German government is obliged to support its weak citizens. This on there other hand is designed to avoid the rise of any person like Hitler who would use people`s emotions to achieve certain agendas.

4. Federalism: this principle ensures that the power is divided between the central government and the regional governments.Federalism in the South African context would be called separation of powers.

What it makes it more interesting for me is that most of the South African government system is taken from Germany. I would argue that the German system is one of the best in the world because it is always vital that even if you have a free market system but ensure that the wealth of the country is shared and the poor are cared for. Which I believe that our country can learn from the German system.

The consequences of federalism are that Germany has 16 independent states which have their own systems, for example education, but there is central frame work. I would highly recommend such because needs differ from place to place.

The German parliament structure (same as ours) is divided into two houses which perform different functions.

Lastly in Germany you have a President who has limited political power and a Chancellor who to us could be equated to the President.

Lastly if I could say (subject to critic) the German system of education can work well for poor African countries in order to ensure that we produce more well educated people and for our own industrial and research growth.

(Report by Luvo Makazi, University of the Western Cape)