Germany, or the Federal Republic of Germany, is a Central European state in which, according to the latest census of 2011, 80.2 million people lived in an area of 357.021 thousand square kilometers. Germany is a parliamentary state led by the Bundestag. So what are the functions and role of parliament in this country?
Instruction manual
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Formally, the Bundestag is a unicameral body organized on the principle of popular representation. Currently, it is divided into two parts - government and opposition. The first consists of three parties with a total of 504 votes - the Christian Democratic Union of Germany Angela Merkel (leader with 255 votes), the Social Democratic Party of Germany with Sigmar Gabriel at the head (193) and the Christian Social Union with leader Horst Seehofer (56). And as part of the second, there are two more German parties - the Lefts under the leadership of Katie Kipping and Bernd Riksinger (64) and the Greens with leaders Jem Ozdemir and Simone Peter (63). Each of the parties in Germany has its own characteristic color of symbolism - black, red, blue, burgundy and green, respectively. The voting system in the German Bundestag is a mixed type.
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The German parliament is entrusted with several important functions at once: legislative, elective (election of the Federal Chancellor, which is currently Angela Merkel), as well as controlling (determining the direction of the government). Moreover, laws in the Bundestag are not only adopted, but also developed. The following feature of the work of the German government is also very interesting: people's representatives do not neglect their right to often resort to the help of outside experts.
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The members of the Bundestag are elected in general, direct and free elections, but by secret ballot, since they are representatives of the entire German people, not bound by any obligations and documents and guided only by "their own conscience."
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The chairman of the German parliament is traditionally selected from among the members of the faction, which is the strongest and most numerous. It is Angela Merkel, in addition to the executive functions of the head of the country, who is also obliged to conduct plenary meetings and monitor compliance with strict parliamentary regulations. In addition to the chairman, the following posts and bodies exist in the Bundestag - the vice-president (one from each faction), the presidency of the Bundestag (which includes the President of the Parliament and vice-presidents), the Council of Elders, which is more a legacy of earlier times and goes back to past centuries of the country's existence, various committees, the Bundestag administration and the Bundestag police. Each body has certain functions.
