Looking for a new German president

The role of the President in Germany is largely ceremonial.

He or she is elected not by the people, but by the Bundesversammlung – a rather strange arrangement consisting of the members of the Bundestag (lower house), Bundesrat (upper house), as well as representatives from each state’s parliament.  It is the largest political entity in Germany, currently with 1244 members. The Bundestag members make up 50% of the votes.

And since the amount of votes each party holds depends on their share of power in each of the states, the Bundesversammlung does not necessarily reflect the normal political state of the country as a whole.

When President Horst Köhler resigned on Monday, the wheels were set in motion to calculate the membership for the election of a new president by the end of June.  The German constitution allows only 30 days for this to happen.  Three days later, and despite modern technology those calculations continue.

Schloss Bellevue in Berlin - official residence of the German President (©Can Stock Photo Inc. / claudiodivizia)

Schloss Bellevue in Berlin - official residence of the German President

But why does Germany need a new president in the first place?  Apparently President Köhler gave an interview last week which was – as far as I understand – reported out of context.  He was asked for clarification by some of the major political parties.  And then he resigned.  It all happened very quickly.

In fact, the media has been more interested in the sudden resignation and whether it was necessary, than what he actually said in that interview. [Read more…]

Why I can’t vote next week

With the General Election in the UK only a week away, you may be forgiven for asking how someone who does not live in the country is able to vote.  The answer is that, like me, they probably are not able to.

Ballot boxTo vote in the UK your name has to be on the electoral roll, and to be on that you have to fulfil certain conditions.  One of these used to be an address in the UK and the normal method of registration is still via a form that is delivered to all households between September and November each year.

But even if you registered on a UK address and then spent most of your time out of the country there was a distinct downside to being on the electoral role: jury service.  Since the members of a court jury are selected at random from the electoral roll, being on it you run the risk of being summoned for jury service and having to travel back to the UK at short notice – something a German employer may not understand.

Now, however, times have started to change and much like other countries UK citizens are being allowed to vote even if they live overseas – at least in the General Election.

To do so, you need to register as a voter and have your registration counter-signed by another British citizen living abroad.  You will also need to chose between a proxy or postal vote – and apply for these far enough in advance of the election (not easy with this election being called so close to the actual voting day).

And yet these new rules will not help me, as there is one important limit – you must not have lived outside the UK for more than 15 years – exactly the amount of time that I have now lived in Germany.

So although I will following the results of the General Election next week and parts of the campaign have even made the news in Germany, I shall not be able to vote.

The new German coalition

It is almost a month since the elections in Germany, and finally a coalition settlement has been reached between the CDU/CSU and the FDP.

Let’s take a look at what it will mean…

Tax reforms

Tax reforms worth €24bn have been promised (that’s British billions), although they will not happen until 2011.

My thoughts: no rush then to get those in, plenty of time for that to change

Income tax will be reformed, with a more “banded” type of system.

I’m sure I’ve heard that before.  I’m just not sure after which election…

VAT rates look to stay the same, but there will be some changes are to what qualifies for the reduced 7% rate.

Benefits

Child benefit should be going up in 2010 to 184EUR per month for the first and second children, higher for others.

Well that’s something, it went up 10EUR this year, so another 20EUR will be nice, but bear in mind that despite inflation it has otherwise been stuck at 154EUR since the Euro was introduced in 2002!

Health

No immediate changes are planned to the health system, but instead the coalition will wait for recommendations to be made by a Government committee.

Oh great!  So we’re stuck with the Gesundsheitsfond.  I guess there is no chance of paying less into it and the self-employed will still be at a disadvantage when it comes to sick pay.

Ministers

Wolfgang Schäuble (CDU) moves from the interior ministry (sort of the Home Office) to the finance ministry (ie. the Treasury).

I find this a strange decision, but it could make a lot of people in the IT world happy.

Ursula von der Leyen (CDU) stays at the family ministry.

I’m sure that many in the IT industry would have liked to see her move as well – along with Herr Schäuble she was awarded the “Big Brother Award” this year because of her policies, which have often been criticised by IT specialists and journalists alike.

Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg (CSU) moves from industry to defence.

I don’t get this one, because during the campaign and even after the election, I thought all the parties were “agreed” that he was the right man for the job his was in.  What happened?

Guido Westerwelle (FDP) will be foreign minister and vice-chancellor

No real surprise here.  The foreign minister is an important role in the German Government, and being vice-chancellor at the same time will probably give him the power to take decisions at high-level meetings without Frau Merkel.  Will she be spending more time in Germany now?

There are also many new ministers that I do not (yet) know much about, or even have an opinion on.

So is it good for Germany?

It’s too early to say.  With so many fresh faces in the cabinet I’m hoping that there will finally be some movement on issues that were just forgotten under the previous Government.  On the other hand, I have a feeling that the new one might just be taking things a little to relaxed, announcing plans now that will not come to fruition for another 15 months.

Or are they just taking things slowly to make sure they get new laws right the first time?

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