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Comparative Political Parties. Great Britain versus Germany. What are Political Parties? What are Political Ideologies? Electoral Systems Party Systems. Great Britain versus Germany Britain’s Political Parties British 2005 General Election Results
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Comparative Political Parties Great Britain versus Germany
What are Political Parties?What are Political Ideologies?Electoral SystemsParty Systems Great Britain versus Germany Britain’s Political Parties British 2005 General Election Results Germany’s Political Parties Germany’s last General Election Results More Party Comparatives
What are Political Parties? What are Political Ideologies? • Values: freedoms, equality, rights • Limitations or not: on government • Constitutional, Democracy, Dictatorships • Economic structures: • Free Market, Mixed, or Command
Great Britain’s Electoral System versusGermany’s Electoral System Great Britain’s Two-Party System: Unitary Political System Parliamentary System: House of Commons -- 659 Seats (Lower) House of Lords - 500 life peers (Upper) - 92 hereditary peers 1. Single-member District Elections with plurality winners: A Majoritarian System. Promotes: Two-Party Systems
Germany’s Hybrid Electoral System, Two-Party Plus Multiparty Systemor “Mixed-Member Proportional”.Each voter votes twice on ballot: Once for District Representation Once for State Party Representation Federal Republic Parliamentary System: Bundestag - 603 Members (Lower) represents 299 Districts Bundesrat - 68 Members (Upper) represents 16 Laender (States) • Single-member District Elections (5%) • Landesliste (Party vote) Proportional Elections.
Great Britain’s Political Partiesin a Two-Party System: • Labour Party: < Left and Right > Left: militant trade unionist, intellectual radicalism, want industry nationalized, no public schools, higher taxes on rich, leave the European Union no nuclear weapons
Right: Is moderate and centrist favors some welfare, wants no government takeovers of industry, is pro NATO, pro Europe, pro American foreign policy.
The Tories: Traditionalists and Thatcherites (Roskin, 2004) • Conservative Party: pragmatic: to evaluate matters according to their practical consequences. Traditionalists: takes everybody’s interest into account. likes to retain traditional ways of doing things. wants people to lead the country that are born and educated to lead it.
The Thatcherite Wing: (traces of 19th Century liberalism; called today neoliberalismand like American Conservatism) want to limit government, and free the economy. want a strong military. favor the Common Market but not the European Union which they believe encroaches upon British sovereignty.
British 2005 Election Results: Party% of VoteSeats Labour 35.2 356 Conservatives: 32.3 197 Liberal Dem: 22 62 Other: 10.5 31
Germany’s Political Parties:Mixed-Member Proportional System • Christian Democratic Union (CDU) with Christian Social Union (CSU, Bavarian): old Catholic based center party. after WWII, became more inclusive to protestant religion membership. it follows a Social Market economy philosophy, later expanded the “Welfare State Modell Deutschland”: concerns for all social groups. workers/unions participate in company policymaking.
German Parties, continued: • Social Democratic Party (SPD): originally Marxist, in 1959 dropped Marxism. represents traditional working class, but also attracts middle class, especially intellectuals. Now, a center-left party (Schroeder’s “Third Way”): less government, more shared responsibility, open markets. Party governs Bundestag with Greens
German Parties, continued • Greens Party: ecology-pacifist party. once radical in ‘60s - ‘80s, now pragmatic and are in Bundestag and Bundesrat since 1990s. by 2002, won 8.6% of national vote. want to phase out nuclear plants. want high taxes on gasoline. govern with SPD coalition.
German Parties, continued Free Democratic Party: a classical liberal party. wants free society. wants free markets. more individual responsibility. less government overall. before 1990s, governed in coalition with CDU/CSU.
Germany’s 2002 Election Results: Party% of Votes Seats SPD 38.5 251 CDU/CSU 38.5 248 Alliance ‘90/ Greens 8.6 55 FDP 7.4 47 Party of Dem.Soc. 4.0 2
Final Party Comparatives British Both German Party ID de-alignment issues more centrist Prime Minister Parliament members Chancellor are loyal to leaders Euros/Votes Nat’l party All Party input Small allowances Larger ones Campaigns, fees matched
2005 Elections Results September 10, 2005 Party %Seats in Fed.Assembly CDU/CSU 35.2 225 SPD 34.3 222 FDP 9.8 61 Left 8.7 54 Greens 8.1 51
Political Positions President/Chief of State: Horst Koehler Five year term, since July 1, 2005: elected by Federal Convention of Federal Assembly + = amount of state delegates Chancellor: Angela Merkel, CDU Four year term: elected by absolute majority of Federal Assembly on September 22, 2005 Cabinet - Federal Ministers: are appointed by the President, from the Chancellor’s recommendations.