The Weimar Constitution, one hundred years ago, created, was a Grand Experiment that ultimately failed due to its own contradictions. Two things mainly went wrong. The construction of parliamentary democracy, which led to the Reichstag, the coalition’s inability due to the inability to work has settled down quickly in his and the legislation of the Executive office President of the German Reich left. Secondly, but also of the Weimar state was a failed design, because he created a very hierarchical federalism, überzentralisiert and inflexible.
70 years Ago, an attempt has been made to correct these two errors in the basic law, which on the whole well managed, with effect from today. The Parliamentary works, the Federal government has to get a Unitarian, but he’s clearly created a more balanced and flexible than after 1919.
It doesn’t have to stay. This has been shown in the constitutional debate of the past few years, which has culminated now in the conciliation process, to the fundamental changes in the law, the Federal Association of the digital Pact for the schools. The dispute was cleared on Wednesday evening in the conciliation Committee after a brief discussion, is good.
The result is not necessarily, even if the small worse stand out better in the sometimes somewhat crude passages in the rear part of the Constitution where the Federal-state relationship in the case of legislation, administration and finances, too. Over the years, has crept increasingly the hierarchical understanding of the state shaped the Weimar Constitution.
It’s not to your liking
The Federal government is not, however, the top legislature, which suggests itself at will, in any case, the understanding of some politicians at the Federal level, which must grapple with responsibilities, the daily politics or the profile need of the own party. The Federal state is the division of tasks. This also applies if you create the federalism very cooperative, as is the case with us.
This model was always a product of the technocratic dreams of total government control and steering, and encourage a hierarchical state of understanding. But a bite with the parliamentary democracy, the core of the autonomy of parliaments, and so by the Bundestag and the land parliaments. And as a bond of the Bundestag by Executive agreements between the Federal government and the Prime Minister conference of criticism is (a fashion of the past few years, image has become in the famous peaks in the case of the Chancellor), the binding of the country days by the Federal government, a failed development. Especially since a lot of it is pretty messed up.
Exactly this binding has been merged with the basic law, changes by Wednesday, if not quite so drastically, such as from the Bundestag originally desired. To respect the autonomy of the levels and not to bend, is a core principle of any Federal system. Because of those citizens benefit, to the it:. Because autonomy also: clear responsibilities. But according to the taste of professional party politicians, who do not like to split on all levels and in all functions of on-the-go. For them, everything is one, the main thing is the own club to win somehow in the Mix of responsibility. You may mist the Jurisdiction, so how do you like your speech bubbles, haze.
the autonomy is estimated to be low
in Concrete terms, it has gone recently to the implementation of the Digitalpakts for the schools. School boards, municipalities, countries have the legislation and the control task. If the Federal government now wants to give from their own budget, can we accept this pragmatic, even if he has a school policy of no responsibilities and the actual way the Constitution provides for the Amendment of the tax distribution in favour of the Länder and the local authorities. But the policy needs to recognise more clearly that the Federal government is interfering in the tasks and responsibilities of other parliaments. And this is only possible, if at all, strictly secondary in nature. So, with due restraint and due respect.
There are countries and municipalities, which have very Autonomous and very individual, the hat. And quite democratic. Control, Direct, Dictate and Control what you connect on the Federal side with the own grants, and it has anchored, in part, also as in the basic law, it does not fit in. So how is it Vice-versa is also problematic, if in coalition negotiations in the Federal government, like all cohorts of the country, politicians, disguised as a party politician, on the level of say, bears no direct responsibility.
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the Federal government and the Länder is compacted or so times
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So, it is good that, apparently, a growing need arises to arrange of the Federal things better. And that is: democratic, independent, less hierarchical. The mediation ended procedures with all-round harmony of expressions, may be a good Omen. And with all due sympathy for a now-friendly review of the Constitution of 1919 – 1949 was, and is, better.
