Constitutional bodies
Verfassungsorgane
You will understand the three powers of the state and the roles of the Bundestag, the Bundesrat, the Federal Government, the Chancellor and the Federal President.
The three powers of the state
In a state under the rule of law, power is not held by one person or one body. State power (Staatsgewalt) is divided into three parts. This division is called the separation of powers (Gewaltenteilung).
- The legislative power (Legislative): it makes the laws. This is the job of the parliament (Parlament), mainly the Bundestag, together with the Bundesrat.
- The executive power (Exekutive): it carries out the laws. The government, the ministries, the police and the tax office (Finanzamt) belong to it.
- The judicial power (Judikative): it decides legal cases. Judges work for this power, and the courts belong to it.
In the exam the powers also have other German names: legislative power (gesetzgebenden Gewalt), executive power (vollziehenden Gewalt) and judicial power (rechtsprechenden Gewalt). A judge belongs to the judicial power, not to the executive power.
Who decides on a new law? Not the government, the courts or the police, but the parliament. This is why a legislative body exists.
The constitutional bodies
The highest bodies of the state are called constitutional bodies (Verfassungsorgane). They include the Bundestag and the Bundesrat, both of which belong to the legislative power.
- Bundestag: the parliament for the whole of Germany.
- Bundesrat: the body that represents the states.
- Federal Government (Bundesregierung): led by the Federal Chancellor.
- Federal President (Bundespräsident): the head of state.
- Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht): the highest court for constitutional questions.
A group such as a citizens' assembly (Bürgerversammlung) is not a constitutional body of Germany.
The Bundestag: the parliament
The Bundestag is the parliament (Parlament) for the whole of Germany. The members of parliament (Abgeordnete) are elected by the people. The seat of the Bundestag is in Berlin, in the Reichstag building, a large building with a dome.
The Bundestag has several tasks. It drafts and passes laws. It elects (wählen) the Federal Chancellor. It also controls (kontrollieren) the government. But forming the cabinet (Bundeskabinett) is not a task of the Bundestag: the Chancellor chooses the ministers, and the Federal President appoints them.
The President of the Bundestag (Bundestagspräsident) is usually a member of the strongest parliamentary group (Fraktion). A Fraktion is the association of the members of one party in parliament. Which groups are the largest is decided by the election and changes from term to term, so this guide does not name them.
In parliament there are the governing parties (Regierungsparteien) and the opposition (Opposition). The opposition is made up of all members who do not belong to the governing party or parties. Its main task is to control the government. The opposition does not decide who becomes a minister.
Sometimes a member changes the Fraktion. This is allowed, but it can cause the government to lose its majority in parliament.
The Federal Government and the Chancellor
The Federal Government (Bundesregierung) consists of the Federal Chancellor and the ministers. Together they form the cabinet (Bundeskabinett). The government carries out the laws, so it belongs to the executive power.
The Federal Chancellor (Bundeskanzler) leads the cabinet and is responsible for the policy of the government. The Chancellor is not elected directly by the people. The Bundestag elects the Chancellor. The Federal President only proposes the candidate and later appoints the Chancellor.
The ministers (Minister) are not elected by the Bundestag. The Federal President appoints them.
The Chancellor works most often in Berlin, because the Bundeskanzleramt (the Chancellor's office) and the Bundestag are there. The Chancellor does not work mainly in Bonn or in guest palaces.
Often one party does not have enough seats to form a government alone. Then parties form a coalition (Koalition) and govern together. The cooperation of the SPD, the FDP and Bündnis 90/Die Grünen in one government is called the Ampelkoalition, because the colours of the three parties resemble a traffic light.
The Bundeswehr is the German army.
The Federal President
The Federal President (Bundespräsident) is the head of state (Staatsoberhaupt) of the Federal Republic of Germany. It is not the Chancellor, the President of the Bundestag or the President of the Bundesrat.
The main task of the President is to represent (repräsentieren) the country. The President does not run the government, does not draft laws and does not decide daily policy.
The President has a few specific tasks. The President proposes the Chancellor for election by the Bundestag and hands over the certificate of appointment. The President also appoints the ministers. The Chancellor chooses the ministers, the President appoints them.
The President is not elected directly by the people. The Federal Convention (Bundesversammlung) elects the President. Do not confuse it with the Bundesrat.
A person who has achieved something special in politics, business, culture, intellectual life or society can be honoured with the Bundesverdienstkreuz. It is a German order of merit.
The Bundesrat and the states
Germany consists of several states (Bundesländer). The states take part in making federal laws through the Bundesrat.
The Bundesrat does not consist of members elected directly by the people. It consists of the government representatives of the states (Regierungsvertreter der Bundesländer). They are not members of the Bundestag, federal ministers or just any party members.
This is why politics in one state can affect the whole country. When a state government changes, the majority in the Bundesrat can change. Then it can become harder for the federal government to govern, because it needs the agreement of the Bundesrat for many laws.