Intro to Parties

       Germany is a republic with a bicameral system and parliamentary democracy. Germany has a Chancellor and his helpers, or ministers, are members of the Bundestag. The Bundestag is the national Parliament of Germany. The German president/head of state is currently Joachim Gauck. Joachim's ministers hold power in the Parliament.

       The president and the Chancellor are different and have different powers, the president has the power to suspend Parliament and to ratify new laws, but he has no specific powers. Germany's president elects the Chancellor and the Bundestag votes in a secret ballot, if the Bundestag doesn't approve of the choice then they choose a new Chancellor. There are seventeen political parties in Germany. There are fourteen parties supported by the Bundestag/Parliament and three parties supported by the state parliaments. The three parties supported by the state have significant power, which are: the Christian Democratic Union, the Christian Social Union, and the Social Democratic Party. The government doesn't control the minor parties, which there are twenty-two of, but the government has some say over the three major parties.

       The Christian Democratic Union is a conservative party and believes in NATO. They support all religions, Angela Merkel is the current leader of the CDU and the current Chancellor of Germany. They currently have no social or economic issues. The CDU and CSU are currently arguing over immigration and national referendums. CSU is an unofficial part of the Union that is in Bavaria that is the sister party of the CDU. The Social Democratic Party (SDP) represents the working class. The SDP wants to improve the economy and the free market while attracting the middle class. They have no ideological and social issues.