POLITICAL
SYSTEM
Before the
9th of November 1918, Germany was ruled by the Prussian royal family. But at
the end of the First World War, Kaiser Wilhelm II had to abdicate, for the
Germany to become a republic even though the word “republic” wasn’t officially
used before the end of the Second Word War. The Social Democrat Frank-Walter
Steinmeier, elected in 2017, is currently the President.
Germany is
a federal system made up of 16 states (called Länders) lead by
Minister-Presidents. Each one of these states also have its own parliament. So
the power in Germany is decentralized as the states have their own health and
education system, police force and are responsible for some social issues.
Moreover, every federal ministry have both an office in Berlin and in Bonn
which were the capitals of East and West Germany during the Cold War. Berlin,
Hamburg and Bremen are also city states. It gives them even more power than the
13 other Länders.
Every four
years since 1949, national elections are held as well as State votes. In
Germany, the mixed-member proportional representation system is used. It
consists in having two votes, one for a candidate and another for a party. It
permits to avoid a majority made up with one single party in parliament. So the
two biggest parties (CDU and SPD) are looking for coalition partners in order
to obtain the majority.
The
parliament is divided in two houses: the Bundestag is the lower one in which
directly elected politicians are drafting laws and the Bundesrat is the upper
one. Its role is to approve the laws concerning state decisions or the
constitution. The Bundestag is also responsible for electing the Chancellor who
is proposed by the President within the lead candidate of each party
(Spitzenkandidaten).
FOREIGN
RELATIONS
Germany is
a member of North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the Organization for Economic
Co-operation and Development, the G20, the G8, the World Bank and the
International Monetary Fund. It maintains relations with approximately 200
countries and has a major role in the European Union. At the end of the last
century, Germany built strong relationships with many countries, mainly with
France, but is also very close to the United States thanks to the interests and
similarities that exist between the two countries. Moreover, since the last
decades, they provide a lot of aid all around the world during conflicts or
crisis.
The country
is the 3rd largest contributor to the budget of the United Nations
by providing 8% and is also the largest for the European Union with 20%.
