What are the key functions of the German Chancellor - Essay Example

Introduction Germany adopted the constitution (Basic law) on May 1949, which saw the reunification of Germany. The Basic law combines the lessons from German experience with the National Socialist State, the Weimar Republic and the intention of the Western powers. The Basic law provided the foundation for creating the Democratic and Social Federal Republic. The Federal Republic of Germany has its name from Germans federal structure. The Federal Republic of Germany consists of sixteen states; each state has its own authority and powers (US Department of Defense 1999, p. 25-26). The Federal Republics constitution stipulates the responsibilities of the three separate arms of Germany government. The three branches are the legislature, executive and the judiciary. The legislature consists of a bicameral parliament, the Bundesrat and the Bundestag. The function of the executive circulates within the office of the president and the Chancellor. The federal constitution is the highest court in Germany. It has the right to declare any acts of the federal state or the state legislatures unconstitutional. The court guards the Basic Law and consists of two panels, each panel consisting of eight judges. The Bundestag and the Bundesrat appoint an equal number of judges (US Department of Defense 1999, p. 25-26). The functions of the federal president The federal president is the head of the government and performs a ceremonial role. The president represents the country in international relations. The president concludes treaties, accredits and receives envoys. The federal president is not a member of the government, the legislature or the federal government. The Federal Convection elects the president for a five year term and the Convection appoints president on a maximum of two terms. The key political role of the president is the appointment and dismissal of the Chancellor, federal judges, ministers, civil servants and the officers and non-commissioned officers. The president also signs laws in Germany. However, this requires the orders from the Federal chancellor (US Department of Defense 1999, p. 25-26). General functions of the Chancellor of Germany The Germany’ Chancellor is the head of the German Federal Government. The Bundestag appoints the president through a majority vote. The president comes from the majority party (coalition) in the Bundestag. The Germany Chancellor selects and proposes the ministers that form the cabinet to the president, who in turn appoints the minister. The ministers proposed by the Chancellor and appointed by the president form the coalition. In the present government, the Chancellor reserves the Foreign Affairs Ministry, the Environmental Affairs ministry and the Health Ministry to the coalition partners, the Greens. The appointed cabinet ministers manage the ministries, set policy and ensure their implementation (US Department of Defense 1999, p. 25-26). The chancellor sets the general policy of the government. Then constitution supported the chancellor roles. The chancellor appoints ministers, but also has the authority to dismiss the ministers. The chancellor plays two roles in defense affairs. The chancellor sets the general policy for the government on military matters. The Germany constitution grants the president power of command over Germany’ Armed Forces (US Department of Defense 1999, p. 25-26). The functions of the Chancellor under the Basic law The Article 56 of the Weimar constitution forms the basis of the Article 65 of the Basic law. The Article defines the responsibilities of the Germany Chancellor, the individual ministers and the whole government. The Article forms the reference point for the constitutional role of the Chancellor. The Article establishes three principles: the chancellor principle, the cabinet principle and the departmental principle (Abromeit & Padgett 1994, p. 32). The Basic Law has strengthened the position of the Chancellor in the Republic of German when compared with the Weimar Republic. The chancellor and his cabinet constitute the federal government. The chancellor is the leader of the largest political party. The Bundestag members appoint the chancellor for a period of four years in an office (James 1998, p. 47). The basic law has two stipulations on the role of the chancellor. The chancellor should determine the policy to guide the government and should only be replaced by the presence of a majority successor. This guards the chancellor against the dangers of negative majorities. The negative majorities is the majority against a chancellor and would not reunite to support an alternative candidate for chancellorship. The negative majority dominated the Weimar Republic and brought instabilities in the government. The movement from a multi-party system in the federal republic reduces fears of chancellor from the negative majorities. The opposition has invoked the Article 67 of the Basic Law in two occasions. In 1972, Willy Brandt survived as the chancellor, but in 1982 Helmut Schmidt lost and Helmut Kohl replaced him (Eur 2003, p. 255). The cabinet principle and the departmental principle succeed the chancellor principle. The cabinet principle is the weakest principle that prevails in many Germany coalition governments. The cabinet principle resolves disputes among the ministers and may results into inefficiency among the ministers. The departmental principle is subject to the powers of the chancellor. Through the principle, the chancellor set guidelines for ministers to manage their ministries. This departmental principle competes with the Chancellor principle on several occasions. The Chancellor principle dominated during the reign of Adenauer. This domination was due to the inexperience of the ministers and Adenauer forceful personality (Eur 2003, p. 255). Adenauer also monopolized the access to the Allied high commissioners until 1955. The forceful personality of Chancellor Adenauer marked the origin of the concept of chancellor democracies in Germany. Helmut Schmidt is the only chancellor in Germany that matched the assumptions of the Chancellor principle. The other Chancellor realized that the coalition government made it difficult for the Chancellor to provide guidelines in areas of external affairs. The Chancellor Kohl used his competence in the area of intra-German affairs to unity the Germans (Eur 2003, p. 255). The chancellor of Germany under the Basic law can survive a vote of no confidence by seeking the support of the legislature. This privilege makes the chancellor less vulnerable than the prime minister in many parliamentary systems of government (Hauss 2008, p. 161). Powers of the chancellor under the Weimar Republic The Weimar constitution granted powers to the president to appoint the chancellor. The chancellor then appointed the various members of the cabinet in the government. The Weimar constitution allowed the division between the legislature and the executive authority within the Reichstag. The division caused paralysis that destroyed the popular support for the parliamentary democracies in the Weimar Republic. The greatest weakness of the Weimar constitution is the contradiction in division of authority among the presidents, the Reichstag and the chancellor. The president had powers to appoint the chancellor and dissolve the Reichstag, but failed to legitimately implement government programs. On the other hand, the chancellor would form a cabinet and propose a program, but his proposal could be declined by the legislature (Mueller 1996, p.46) Coalition government in Germany A coalition government involves a combination of two or more different parties so as to achieve a mutual goal. The goal is to secure a working majority, which enables members of the coalition to form the government. Coalitions can also be formed to reduce partisan conflict during times of crises. Thus, when no one party secures a majority of seats in the legislature it forms a coalition government (Maheshwari 1992, p.321). The democracies in Germany depend on the cooperation of parties in coalition agreements. This is because the constitution provides for election by a proportional representation, which means that there is no single party that can have a majority in the Reichstag (Lee 1996, p. 19). The Germans multi-party system results into coalition governments. The negotiation between potential partners in the governing coalitions takes place before the formation of the coalition government. The negotiation among the potential partners leads to a formal coalition agreement that spells out the areas of policy consensus between the coalition partners. In 1966, the Christian Social Union (CSU) and the Christian Democrats Union (CDU) coalition with the Free Democratic Party (FDP) collapsed. This paved way for the coalition between the CDU, CSU and the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) (Schweitzer 1995, p. 241). The SPD formed a coalition government with FDP as their junior partner from the year 1969-1982. The coalition survived three national elections. In 1982, the fundamental difference over economic and social policy made FDP move out of the coalition with the CDU and CSU. Chancellor Schmidt fought hard to maintain his chancellorship position, but the new CDU and CSU-FDP alliance elected Helmut Kohl as the chancellor in 1982 (Schweitzer 1995, p. 241). Do coalition governments improve the role of heads of states? The coalition governments provide agenda to the government. The agenda may vary from the drafting of bills or areas that need addressing by the government. The coalition helps to prevent conflicts within coalition that may arise from contentious issues. The members of a coalition use negotiations to help reduce potential conflicts within the government (Muller & Strom 2000, p. 376). Comparison of coalitions in the government of Europe A coalition cabinet occurs in countries with several organized political parties. The coalition cabinets do not occur in semi-presidential systems such as France where the president appoints the prime minister. Countries that operate with coalition cabinets include; Ireland, Italy, Turkey, Israel, India, the Nordic countries, the Benelux countries and Germany. In Germany, a coalition cabinet is the norm because it is impossible for a political party to consolidate a majority in parliament. Coalition’s government may consist of several parties. In Netherlands and France, the coalition’s cabinet consists of six parties. In Finland, the coalition government has five parties. India’s ruling government consists of fourteen parties. In Germany, the coalition government consists of at least two parties (Arora 2010, p. 23). References List Abromeit, H., & Padgett, S. (1994). Adenauer to Kohl: the development of the German chancellorship, London, Hurst. P. 32 Arora, N. D. (2010). Political Science for Civil Services Main Examination, New York, Tata McGraw-Hill Education. P. 23 Eur. (2003). Western Europe 2003. Regional Surveys of the World Series, Edition 5, London, Routledge. p. 255 Hauss, C. (2008). Comparative politics: domestic responses to global challenges, Belmont, CA, Wadsworth/Cengage Learning. p.161 James, P. (1998). Modern Germany: politics, society and culture. Edition illustrated, reprint, London, Routledge. p .47 Lee, S. J. (1996). Weimar and Nazi Germany, Oxford, Heinemann. p.19 Maheshwari, S. (1992). The Indian administrative year book, 1990, New Delhi, Concept Pub. Company. p.321 Mueller, D. C. (1996). Constitutional Democracy, Oxford, Oxford University Press. p. 46 Muller, W. C., & Strom, K. (2000). Coalition governments in Western Europe. Oxford, Oxford University Press. p. 376 Schweitzer, C.-C. (1995). Politics and government in Germany: 1944-1994: basic documents, Providence [u.a.], Berghahn. p. 241 U.S Department of Defense. (1999). A comparison of the defense acquisition systems of France, Great Britain, Germany and the United States, London, DIANE Publishing. Pp. 25-26 Read More