GERMANY'S POLITICAL SYSTEM- AN OVERVIEW

by Namhla Matshanda

It is a good thing, that there is a distinction between a country's politics and its political system. If I were to write about Germany's politics I would hardly know where to begin. A country's politics and history are closely linked, one can hardly speak of one without the other; and Germany has a rather, complicated and long history, the same applies to her politics.

However, on this report, I will write about Germany's current political system. A political system describes the form of state, type of government, institutions of state, the type of electoral system, as well as other role players, such as political parties and non-governmental organisations.
Germany is a Federal Republic, this means, that power is decentralised, and there is no central government that makes all the decisions. Each of the 16 states or Länder, has its own Parliament and therefore formulates its own policies.

Most federal states usually adopt the Parliamentary system as the type of government, Germany is no exception. With the parliamentary system, Parliament is divided into two houses, the Bundestag and the Bundesrat, in the case of Germany. During elections, the electorate votes in members of the Bundestag from various political parties. This means, that it is Parliament who elects the President and the Federal Chancellor. The electorate cannot at any election elect any of the above persons, this is the duty of the Bundestag.
The current President, Horst Köhler, and Chancellor Angela Merkel, are both accountable to the Bundestag. The Bundestag has the power to remove both the President and the Chancellor.

Germany is a multi-party state, with political parties of varying ideologies. About six parties are represented in Parliament, with the CDU and the SPD, being the dominant ones.
Today, in Germany one can hardly speak of left or right political parties, because of the various changes in the country's political landscape, as well as because of the coalitions that have been formed between the political parties.

Since the late 1940's and even more so since reunification, Germany has become one of the most powerful states in Europe, and indeed, in the world. The last decade has seen Germany rise to become an economic giant to be reckoned with.
Federalism seems to have been the best option for a country with a history that is characterised by divisions and disunity.