What is the role of Germanys parliamentary opposition? | Germany | DW |... http://www.dw.com/en/what-is-the-role-of-germanys-parliamentary-oppos...

TOP STORIES / GERMANY

G ER MAN Y

What is the role of Germany's

parliamentary opposition?
Following the federal election, the SPD has announced it will go into opposition. What
role does the main opposition party play in the Bundestag?

After the federal election, all parties who garnered more than 5 percent of the popular vote
nationwide are allocated seats in the Bundestag, Germany's lower house of parliament. Parties who
are not part of the government coalition make up the parliamentary opposition.

What is the role of the opposition?

In a parliamentary democracy like Germany, the tasks of the opposition have traditionally included
scrutinizing the work of the government, initiating debate about policies and presenting

1 of 5 2017-09-24 20:43
What is the role of Germanys parliamentary opposition? | Germany | DW |... http://www.dw.com/en/what-is-the-role-of-germanys-parliamentary-oppos...

alternatives to bills brought forward by government politicians.

All parliamentarians are free to state their beliefs. This also goes for members of the opposition,
whose opinions can be diametrically opposed to the views of parliamentarians in government
parties.

#GermanyDecides: Explaining the German

parliament

Is there such a thing as an opposition leader in Germany?

No. In Germany, being the opposition party that has won the most votes comes with a certain
prestige, but there's no specific position attached to it.

It's important to know that the parties making up the opposition aren't one big block. The two
parties in the current opposition, the Left Party and the Greens, are both on the left side of the
political spectrum. But if the far-right populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) makes it into the
Bundestag, parties with opposing convictions will make up the opposition.

What special rights does the biggest opposition party have?

The number of seats a party holds in the Bundestag, allocated according to the percentage of votes

2 of 5 2017-09-24 20:43
What is the role of Germanys parliamentary opposition? | Germany | DW |... http://www.dw.com/en/what-is-the-role-of-germanys-parliamentary-oppos...

they won, does matter when it comes to the time granted to speakers. The stronger the party, the
more time parliamentarians will have to speak in debates.

The Bundestag budget committee is traditionally headed by someone from the largest opposition
party.

According to the most recent polls, the AfD stands to become Germany's leading opposition party

What tools does the opposition have?

One tool to oversee the work of the government is the enquiry. All parliamentary groups can file an
enquiry containing questions directed at the government. In general, enquiries are almost
exclusively filed by the opposition. The number of seats a party has in the Bundestag doesn't matter
when it comes to enquiries - the largest opposition party has no special privilege here.

An enquiry is a popular way to scrutinize the government's work asking for clarifications of
government plans or results of government policies. In the last legislative period from 2009 to 2013,
parliamentarians filed 54 "large" enquiries, requiring plenary debate and 3,629 "small" enquires,
necessitating a written response.

Another tool is the fact-finding committee. Parliamentarians can vote to establish such a committee
on a certain political issue at any given time. The initiative from this usually comes from the
opposition because the committee is supposed to uncover irregularities or even wrongdoings
involving the government. High-profile examples in recent years have included committees on the

3 of 5 2017-09-24 20:43
What is the role of Germanys parliamentary opposition? | Germany | DW |... http://www.dw.com/en/what-is-the-role-of-germanys-parliamentary-oppos...

NSU neo-Nazi group and the NSA surveillance affair.

Originally, a quarter of all parliamentarians needed to vote in favor of initiating a fact-finding

committee for it to go forward. But because the opposition in the current Bundestag only has 20
percent of the seats, this number was adjusted downward. This is not permanent, however, and
might be changed again depending on the size of the opposition after the upcoming election.

What roles do opposition parties play outside of the Bundestag?

All parties represented in the Bundestag, including the opposition, are also represented in
committees or councils throughout civil society in Germany.

Parliamentarians sit on the boards of Germany's public broadcasters and the Federal Agency for
Civic Education, which provides students and other interested parties with information about what
it means to be a German citizen as well as Germany's Nazi past and current right-wing crimes.

D W R EC O M M EN D S

How does the German general election work?

On September 24, Germans head to the polls in a parliamentary vote that will determine whether Angela Merkel
remains chancellor. DW breaks down the ins-and-outs of the Bundestag election process. (16.09.2017)

German election: What you need to know about Germany's political parties CDU, CSU, SPD,
AfD, FDP, Left Party, Greens
Chancellor Angela Merkel is seeking a fourth term this September, but the election race may not see a clear
winner. Coalition building may prove interesting. Here's a who's who of German political parties. (06.09.2017)

Things to know about Germany's Left party

Germany's socialist Left party is the biggest of the "small parties" represented in the Bundestag - but the least
likely to be part of a governing coalition. So what are the others so afraid of? (09.08.2017)

German election: Can the Greens and FDP join Angela Merkel in a coalition?
The Greens and the Free Democrats have traditionally been bitter rivals in Germany. But will these two smaller
parties put aside their differences for a chance at a coalition with the conservatives and a share in power?
(14.09.2017)

The pros and cons of Merkel's grand coalition in Germany

Germany's biggest political parties want to end their marriage of necessity, but is a grand coalition actually such a
bad thing? Experts say that the current arrangement has more going for it than is sometimes thought.

4 of 5 2017-09-24 20:43
What is the role of Germanys parliamentary opposition? | Germany | DW |... http://www.dw.com/en/what-is-the-role-of-germanys-parliamentary-oppos...

(30.03.2017)

NSA spying scandal committee presents controversial final report

A German investigative committee has presented its findings to the Bundestag on US spying on Germany - and
Germany's spying on its allies. The report is more than 1,800 pages long but contains little consensus.
(28.06.2017)

Neo-Nazi investigation was a 'fiasco,' report says

A state parliamentary committee examining the police investigation of the German far-right terror group NSU
has labeled it a 'fiasco' in a final report. The group has been blamed for the murder of at least 10 people.
(21.08.2014)

AU D IO S AND VID EO S O N T H E T O PIC

#GermanyDecides: Explaining the German parliament

Date 24.09.2017

Author Carla Bleiker

Related Subjects Sigmar Gabriel, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Left Party, Alternative fr Deutschland (AfD), Social Democrat
Party (SPD), CDU, Christian Democratic Union, Bundestag (Germany's lower house of parliament), Reichstag, German
elections 2017, Angela Merkel

Keywords Bundestag, parliament, democracy, opposition, AfD, CDU, SPD, Greens, Left party

Share Send Facebook Twitter Google+ More

Feedback: Send us your feedback.

Print Print this page

Permalink http://p.dw.com/p/2kPw8

5 of 5 2017-09-24 20:43