POL 3180 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Mixed-Member Proportional Representation, Federal Constitutional Court, Secret Ballot
15 Jan 2020
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Lecture 3: presentation by franziska hagedorn, deputy head of mission, german. Parliament directly elected by eligible voters ever four years. Legislation to oversee government"s work and represent constituents. Parliament elects the chancellor by secret ballot. Federal chancellor appoints ministers and deputy chancellor. If parliament votes out chancellor, they must appoint a new one immediately. Coalition governments are the rule in germany. Federal government always formed through an alliance of parties. 24 coalition governments since the founding of the bundestag. Active role in central policy via the upper house. Made up of members of federal states" government. Densely populated federal states have more representation than less densely populated states. Balance of power can change several times throughout a mandate. Elected not by the people but by a federal assembly made up of half bundestag members and half publicly known figures of the state governments. Five year mandate, may be re-elected once. Responsible for ensuring that laws comply with the constitution.
