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northAfter years of fruitless debates about reducing the size of the Bundestag, the grand coalition pushed for electoral reform against the opposition. The FDP, the Left and the Greens on Thursday strictly rejected the CDU / CSU and SPD draft because, from their point of view, it is completely inadequate to achieve the desired reduction of parliament, which has grown to 709 members. The coalition factions also broke with the tradition of adopting changes to the electoral law with a large majority if possible.
Bundestag President Wolfgang Schäuble and six other CDU MPs refused to pass the bill from their own ranks. Apparently disappointed with the regulations, which were also criticized by experts for being largely ineffective, they abstained from voting. This is demonstrated by the result of the roll call vote published by the Bundestag.
The Greens’ first parliamentary director, Britta Haßelmann, said: “There will be no cushioning effect.” Haßelmann spoke of “joking”. The coalition “failed miserably,” he said. “The draft is objectively inadequate for reducing the size of the Bundestag. It raises constitutional questions that are completely unanswered, ”said FDP national politician Konstantin Kuhle. The decisive lever, the reduction of the number of electoral districts, is missing initially.
On the other hand, Philipp Amthor of the CDU emphasized: “We have found a just constitutional model.” It hurts because it is effective, because it is binding, because it is understandable ”.
The bill of the coalition parliamentary groups was approved with 362 votes in favor, 281 against and eight abstentions. CDU / CSU and SPD together have 398 seats in the Bundestag. A joint FDP, Greens and Left bill failed to find a majority, as did an AfD bill.
In the debate, left-wing politician Friedrich Straetmanns pointed out that in a hearing at the Bundestag’s Home Affairs Committee, six out of seven experts broke the bill. “After the reforms to the electoral law and with the figures from all the current polls, the Bundestag will continue to grow significantly, to more than 800 members.”
Albrecht Glaser of the AfD said he had yet to hear a “total dismantling” like the hearing. The coalition had prevented any reform for three years. “And what little by little now united is not a reform.”
The FDP, the Left, the Greens and the AfD could also feel confirmed by an opinion of the scientific service of the Bundestag that was known on Thursday. Certify that the CDU / CSU and SPD model has little effect. Based on the outcome of the 2017 Bundestag elections, it would have been possible to reduce the total number of seats to 682 MPs, he says. The regulation would have “generated savings of up to 27 deputies.” The standard size of the Bundestag is 598 seats.
According to the draft of the coalition, there should be 299 electoral districts in a year. A party’s outstanding mandates must be partially offset against the mandates on its list. And if the regular variable of 598 seats is exceeded, up to three pending terms should not be offset by compensatory terms.
A major reform, and then also with a reduction in the number of electoral districts, should, according to the will of the coalition, only take place in the 2025 elections. To this end, a reform commission will be constituted made up of scientists, parliamentarians and other members, who will present a result no later than June 30, 2023.
