Germany's political system explained simply

Germany is a parliamentary democracy, a state governed by the rule of law and a federal state. Voters elect the federal parliament, the Bundestag. The Bundestag elects the Federal Chancellor (Bundeskanzler/in), who forms the federal government with the ministers. The head of state is the Federal President (Bundespräsident/in), whose role is mainly representative. Germany's 16 federal states (Bundesländer) have their own parliaments and governments and help make federal law through the Bundesrat. The Federal Constitutional Court makes sure everyone sticks to the constitution, the Basic Law (Grundgesetz).

The foundations: democracy, republic, federal state

The core rules are in Article 20 of the Basic Law: Germany is “a democratic and social federal state”, and “all state authority is derived from the people”. This principle is called popular sovereignty (Volkssouveränität). The people exercise power mainly through elections.

• Democracy: citizens choose their representatives in free elections and can vote a government out.
• Parliamentary: the government needs a majority in parliament. The Bundestag elects the Chancellor and scrutinises the government.
• Republic: there is no king or queen; the head of state is elected for a fixed term.
• Federal state: power is shared between the federal level (Bund) and 16 states. The country's full name is Bundesrepublik Deutschland – the Federal Republic of Germany.

Separation of powers: who makes, runs and checks the rules?

To stop any one body from becoming too powerful, state authority is divided into three branches:

On top of that, power is divided between the federal, state and local levels. The press is sometimes called the “fourth estate” because it scrutinises politics, but it is not a branch of state power. Parliament also checks the government from within: the opposition – all members of parliament who do not belong to the governing parties – holds the government to account.

The constitutional bodies at a glance

Bundestag

The Bundestag is the parliament for the whole of Germany and meets in the Reichstag building in Berlin. Since the electoral reform it has a fixed 630 seats. A party's members of parliament form a parliamentary group (Fraktion); the President of the Bundestag usually comes from the largest group. The Bundestag passes laws and the federal budget and decides on armed forces deployments abroad. How its members are elected is covered in elections in Germany.

Federal government

The government consists of the Chancellor and the federal ministers. The Chancellor is elected by the Bundestag on the President's proposal, normally needs a majority of all members, leads the cabinet and sets the general direction of policy. The Chancellor works from the Federal Chancellery in Berlin. Ministers are proposed by the Chancellor but formally appointed by the Federal President. The Bundestag can only remove a Chancellor by electing a successor at the same time (a “constructive vote of no confidence”).

Federal President

The head of state represents Germany at home and abroad, checks and signs laws, appoints the government and awards the Federal Cross of Merit (Bundesverdienstkreuz). The President does not run the government. The President is not elected by the people but by the Federal Convention – for five years, with only one consecutive re-election, and must be at least 40. The official residence is Schloss Bellevue in Berlin.

Bundesrat

The Bundesrat is made up of representatives of the state governments, not elected MPs. Each state has 3 to 6 votes depending on population, 69 in total. Because the majority in the Bundesrat can shift after every state election, state elections affect national politics too: if the federal government loses its majority in the Bundesrat, governing gets harder (question 91).

Federal Constitutional Court

Germany's highest court sits in Karlsruhe and has the final word on what the Basic Law means. It can declare laws void and is the only court that can ban a political party. Anyone can file a constitutional complaint (Verfassungsbeschwerde) if they believe the state has violated their fundamental rights.

Federal, state and local: who is responsible for what?

Germany has three levels: the federation, the states and the municipalities (Bund, Länder, Kommunen). The lowest level is the municipality (Gemeinde). Every state has its own parliament and government – but no army and no foreign minister of its own.

Naturalisation is a good example: the Nationality Act is federal law, but your citizenship application is handled by an authority of your state or municipality. For every state with its capital and head of government, see Germany's 16 federal states and their capitals.

How a law is made

1. Bill: the federal government, members of the Bundestag or the Bundesrat introduce a bill. Most bills come from the government; these go to the Bundesrat for comment first.
2. Debate: the Bundestag debates the bill in three readings, with specialist committees working on the detail in between.
3. Vote: the Bundestag votes. It is parliament that passes laws – not the government and not the courts.
4. Bundesrat: for “consent laws” (Zustimmungsgesetze), for example where state finances or administration are affected, the Bundesrat must agree. For other laws it can only object, and the Bundestag can overrule it. If they disagree, a mediation committee looks for a compromise.
5. Signature: the government countersigns, the Federal President signs the law, and it is published in the Federal Law Gazette (Bundesgesetzblatt) and comes into force. The Bundestag explains each step in detail.
6. Review: if, say, a state government or a group of Bundestag members thinks the law breaks the constitution, the Federal Constitutional Court can review it.

Common traps in the citizenship test

• The people elect the Bundestag – not the Chancellor and not the President (question 129).
• The President is elected by the Federal Convention, not by the Bundesrat (question 86).
• The Bundestag does not form the cabinet – ministers are appointed by the Federal President (question 65).
• Courts belong to the judiciary, not the executive; the police, tax office and ministries are part of the executive (question 63).
• The press is not a branch of state power, there is no “directive” branch, and a “citizens' assembly” is not a constitutional body.
• School policy is a matter for the states (question 49).