The political framework of Germany

Political Outline

Current Political Leaders

President: Frank-Walter Steinmeier (since 19 March 2017) - SPD
Chancellor: Olaf Scholz (since 8 December 2021) - SPD

Next Election Dates

Presidential: 2027
Federal Parliament (Bundestag): October 2025 (at the latest)

Current Political Context

In 2021, SPD’s representative Olaf Scholz has been sworn in as Germany's new chancellor with the vote of 395 out of 736 delegates, formally taking power after Angela Merkel's historic 16 years as leader. The government is currently run by the first three-party coalition formed of the Social Democrats, Greens and the Free Democrats.
In response to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the government has implemented major shifts in German foreign, defence, and energy policies (aimed at diversifying energy supply, including the signing of a 15-year deal with Qatar). Relief measures worth hundreds of billions of euros helped Scholz's coalition stave off serious social unrest. Similarly, the government approved an extra budget of EUR 100 billion for military expenses after Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced a Zeitenwende (epochal change) in German defense and security policy.

Main Political Parties

In Germany, parties require at least 5% of the national vote in order to secure representation in the Bundestag. Although based on a multi-party system, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) have historically dominated the political arena. The major parties include:

- Social Democratic Party (SPD): Centre-left, Social Democrats. It is the party that obtained the most seats in the latest elections with 28% of the votes
- Christian Democratic Union (CDU): Conservative, Christian Democratic. It obtained 26.8% of the votes in the latest elections
- Bündnis90/die Gruenen: Left, Green
- Free Democratic Party (FDP): Centre-right
- Alternative for Germany (AfD): Far-right
- Christian-Social Union (CSU): Conservative, Christian Democratic; considered the ‘sister’ of CDU and based in Bayern
- Left Party (Die-Linke): Left-wing

Executive Power

The Head of Government is the Chancellor, and is elected by absolute majority in the Federal Assembly for a four year term. The Chancellor holds the executive power, which includes implementing the law and managing the everyday business of the country. The Federal Ministers (Council of Ministers) are appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Chancellor.

The Head of State is the President, elected for a five year term by the Federal Convention (which includes the members of the Federal Assembly and an equal number of delegates elected by the provincial legislatures). The role of the President is largely ceremonial.

Legislative Power

The legislative power in Germany is bicameral. The parliament consists of two chambers: the Bundestag (the lower house), currently 709 seats, whose members are elected by universal suffrage combining proportional and direct representation, for a four-year term. The second chamber is the Bundesrat (upper chamber), which has 69 seats, and the members are the delegates of the 16 Länder (regions) of the country. There are no elections for the Bundesrat, and the term of its members is for four years. Its composition is determined by that of the regional governments. The government is directly or indirectly dependent on the support of parliament, which is generally expressed by a vote of confidence. The Chancellor can not dissolve the Parliament directly, but he/she can recommend the dissolution to the President in the event of a vote of no confidence in the Bundestag. Legislative power belongs to both the government and parliament. German citizens enjoy considerable political rights.

Indicator of Freedom of the Press

World Rank:

13/180

Indicator of Political Freedom

Ranking:

Free

Political Freedom:

1/7

Political freedom in the world (interactive map)
Source: Freedom in the World Report, Freedom House