The political system of Germany. Germany is a democratic, federal parliamentary republic, and federal legislative power is vested in the Bundestag (the parliament of Germany) and the Bundesrat (the representative body of the Länder, Germany's regional states). There is a multi-party system that,
since 1949, has been dominated by the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). The judiciary of Germany is independent of the executive and the legislature. The
political system is laid out in the 1949
constitution, the Grundgesetz (Basic Law), which remained in effect with
minor amendments after German reunification in 1990. The constitution emphasizes the
protection of individual liberty in an extensive catalogue of human and civil rights and divides powers both between the federal and state levels
and between the legislative, executive
and judicial branches. Germany was a founding member of
the European Community in 1958, which became the EU in 1993. It is part of the Schengen Area, and has been a member of the eurozone since 1999. It is a member of the United Nations, NATO, the G8, the G20 and the OECD. History 1990–1998 In 1990, the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic unified and became one country under the name and
constitution of the former. The
Government of Chancellor Helmut Kohl remained in place with some additions
from the former GDR. 1998–2005 Gerhard Schröder in the 2002 elections Joschka Fischer in the 2005 elections After 16 years of the Christian–Liberal
coalition, led by Helmut Kohl, the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) together with the Greens won
the elections of 1998. SPD vice
chairman Gerhard Schröder positioned himself as a centrist candidate, in
contradiction to the leftist SPD
chairman Oskar Lafontaine. The Kohl government was hurt at the polls by
slower economic growth in the east in
the previous two years, and constantly
high unemployment. The final margin
of victory was sufficiently high to
permit a "red-green" coalition of the SPD with Alliance '90/The Greens (Bündnis '90/Die Grünen ), bringing the Greens into a national government
for the first time. Initial problems of the new
government, marked by policy disputes
between the moderate and traditional
left wings of the SPD, resulted in some
voter disaffection. Lafontaine left the
government (and later his party) in early 1999. The CDU won in some
important state elections but was hit in
2000 by a party donation scandal from
the Kohl years. As a result of this Christian Democratic Union (CDU) crisis, Angela Merkel became chair. The next election for the Bundestag was on 22 September 2002. Gerhard
Schröder led the coalition of SPD and
Greens to an eleven-seat victory over
the Christian Democrat challengers
headed by Edmund Stoiber (CSU). Three factors are generally cited that
enabled Schröder to win the elections
despite poor approval ratings a few
months before and a weaker economy:
good handling of the 100-year flood, firm opposition to the US 2003 invasion of Iraq, and Stoiber's unpopularity in the east, which cost the
CDU crucial seats there. In its second term, the red–green
coalition lost several very important
state elections, for example in Lower
Saxony where Schröder was the prime
minister from 1990 to 1998. On 20 April
2003, chancellor Schröder announced massive labor market reforms, called Agenda 2010, that cut unemployment benefits. Although these reforms
sparked massive protests, they are
now credited with being in part
responsible for the relatively strong
economic performance of Germany
during the euro-crisis and the decrease in unemployment in Germany in the years 2006/7.[1]

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Constitution Main article: Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany The Basic Law for the Federal Republic
of Germany is the constitution of Germany.[6] It was formally approved on 8 May 1949, and, with the signature
of the Allies of World War II on 12 May, came into effect on 23 May, as the
constitution of those states of West Germany that were initially included within the Federal Republic. The 1949
Basic Law is a response to the
perceived flaws of the 1919 Weimar Constitution, which failed to prevent the rise of the Nazi party in 1933. Since
1990 in the course of the reunification
process after fall of the Berlin Wall the
Basic Law also applies to the states of East Germany. Executive Head of state Main article: President of Germany Joachim Gauck – the 11th president of Germany In Germany's parliamentary system of government the Federal Chancellor runs the government and the politics of
the day. However, the German
President has a role which is more than
ceremonial. The Federal President, by
their actions and public appearances,
represents the state itself, its existence, its legitimacy, and unity. The
President's office involves an
integrative role and the control
function of upholding the law and the
constitution. It has also a "political
reserve function" for times of crisis in the parliamentary system of government.[7] The Federal President gives direction to general political and
societal debates and has some
important "reserve powers" in case of political instability (such as those
provided for by Article 81 of the Basic Law).[8] Under Article 59 (1) of the Basic Law (German Constitution), the
Federal President represents the
Federal Republic of Germany in
matters of international law, concludes
treaties with foreign states on its behalf and accredits diplomats.[9] All federal laws must be signed by the
President before they can come into
effect; the president does not have a
veto, but the conditions for refusing to
sign a law on the basis of
unconstitutionality are the subject of debate.[10] Head of government Main article: Chancellor of Germany (1949–) Chancellery in Berlin The Bundeskanzler (federal chancellor) heads the Bundesregierung (federal government) and thus the executive branch of the federal government. He or she is elected by and responsible to
the Bundestag, Germany's parliament. The other members of the government
are the Federal Ministers; they are
chosen by the Chancellor. Germany,
like the United Kingdom, can thus be
classified as a parliamentary system. The Chancellor cannot be removed
from office during a four-year term
unless the Bundestag has agreed on a successor. This constructive vote of no confidence is intended to avoid the situation of the Weimar Republic in
which the executive did not have
enough support in the legislature to
govern effectively, but the legislature
was too divided to name a successor. Except in the periods 1969–72 and
1976–82, when the Social Democratic
party of Chancellor Brandt and
Schmidt came in second in the
elections, the Chancellor has always
been the candidate of the largest party, usually supported by a coalition
of two parties with a majority in the
parliament. One of the ministers the
Chancellor appoints is the Vice-
Chancellor (Vizekanzler). This office itself is hardly important but often
indicates who is the main cabinet
member of the smaller coalition
partner. Cabinet Main article: Cabinet of Germany The German Cabinet (Bundeskabinett
or Bundesregierung) is the chief executive body of the federal republic of Germany. It consists of the chancellor and the cabinet ministers. The fundamentals of the cabinet's
organization are set down in articles
62–69 of the Basic Law. Legislature Main articles: Bundestag and Bundesrat of Germany Federal legislative power is divided
between the Bundestag and the Bundesrat. The Bundestag is directly elected by the German people, while
the Bundesrat represents the governments of the regional states
(Länder). The federal legislature has powers of exclusive jurisdiction and
concurrent jurisdiction with the states
in areas specified in the constitution. The Bundestag is more powerful than the Bundesrat and only needs the latter's consent for proposed
legislation related to revenue shared
by the federal and state governments,
and the imposition of responsibilities
on the states. In practice, however, the
agreement of the Bundesrat in the legislative process is often required,
since federal legislation frequently has
to be executed by state or local
agencies. In the event of disagreement
between the Bundestag and the Bundesrat, a conciliation committee is formed to find a compromise.

Bundestag Seat of the Bundestag The Bundestag (Federal Diet) is elected for a four-year term and
consists of 598 or more members
elected by a means of mixed-member proportional representation, which Germans call "personalised
proportional representation." 299
members represent single-seat constituencies and are elected by a first past the post electoral system. Parties that obtain fewer constituency
seats than their national share of the
vote are allotted seats from party lists
to make up the difference. In contrast,
parties that obtain more constituency
seats than their national share of the vote are allowed to keep these so-
called overhang seats. In the current parliament, elected in 2009, there are
24 overhang seats, giving the Bundestag a total of 622 members. A party must receive either five percent
of the national vote or win at least
three directly elected seats to be
eligible for non-constituency seats in
the Bundestag. This rule, often called the "five percent hurdle", was
incorporated into Germany's election
law to prevent political fragmentation
and strong minor parties. The first Bundestag elections were held in the Federal Republic of Germany ("West
Germany" on 14 August 1949.
Following reunification, elections for the first all-German Bundestag were held on 2 December 1990. The last federal election was held on 22 September 2013. Judiciary Main article: Judiciary of Germany Constitutional court in Karlsruhe The judicial system comprises three
types of courts. Ordinary courts, dealing with criminal and most civil cases, are the most numerous by far. The Federal Court of Justice of Germany (Bundesgerichtshof) is the highest ordinary court and also the highest
court of appeals. Specialized courts hear cases related to administrative, labour, social, fiscal, and patent law. Constitutional courts focus on judicial review and constitutional
interpretation. The Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht) is the highest court dealing with
constitutional matters. The main difference between the
Federal Constitutional Court and the
Federal Court of Justice is that the
Federal Constitutional Court may only
be called if a constitutional matter
within a case is in question (e.g. a possible violation of human rights in a
criminal trial), while the Federal Court
of Justice may be called in any case.

source :wikipedia

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walemoney007:
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Its a beautiful country.