28 | 29
THE STATE & POLITICS
decrees require the approval of the Bun-
Greens, of the CDU and Alliance 90/The
desrat. Since 2011 and 2014 the two smallest
Greens, of SPD and The Left party and one
parties represented in the Bundestag, Alli-
coalition of The Left party, SPD, and Alliance
ance 90/The Greens and The Left party, have
90/The Greens.
provided the Prime Minister in one federal
state each (Baden-Wurttemberg and Thur-
The Federal President is the most senior
ingia respectively).
political person in the country
Because there is no uniform election date
In terms of protocol the Federal President
for the federal state parliaments and the le-
holds the highest office. He is elected not by
gislature periods vary, parallel to the legisla-
the people, but by a Federal Assembly con-
tive term in the Bundestag the balance of
vened specially for the purpose. Half of it is
power in the Bundesrat can change several
made up of the members of the Bundestag,
times. With the current constellation of the
the other half of members elected by the fed-
chamber of federal states, the Federal Gov-
eral state parliaments in relation to the dis-
ernment has no safe majority in the Bun-
tribution of seats there. The Federal Presi-
desrat. There are no longer any distinct
dent holds office for five years and may be
blocks demonstrating uniform voting be-
re-elected once. Joachim Gauck has been
haviour, as there is more diversity with re-
Federal President since 2 012. He is not a
gard to coalitions in the 16 federal states
member of any political party and was a
than ever before in the Federal Republic. On-
Protestant pastor in the former East Ger-
ly in Bavaria can a single party, the CSU, rule
many. During the 1989-1990 peaceful revo-
without a coalition partner. Otherwise, in
lution he was an active member of the civil
addition to federal state governments made
rights movement. Joachim Gauck is the 11th
up of the CDU and SPD parties there are also
Federal President since 1949. Although the
combinations of SPD and Alliance 90/The
Federal President’s duties are primarily
MILESTONES
1949
1953
1961
On 23 May the Parliamentary
Council, which is made up of
representatives of the states in
the Western Occupation Zones,
rresolves the Basic Law in Bonn.
The first Bundestag is elected on
14 August.
On 17 June 1953 around one
million people take to the streets
in East Berlin and East Germany
in protest at the political and
economic conditions. The uprising is quashed by a massive military operation.
In Berlin, the East German leadership seals off the crossings from
east to west: with a wall and barbed
wire. Anyone henceforth seen trying to escape is shot. The unity of
Germany as a state seems unattainable for the foreseeable future.