Backbencher

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The plenary chamber of the British House of Commons (c. 1885) with the benches of the government faction (left) and the opposition (right)

As a backbencher ( Engl. Backbencher ) are MPs referred to within the Parliament have less prominent or not functions. Such representatives sit “on the back benches” or in the back rows. The term was derived from the seating arrangements of the British House of that today with benches (Engl. Benches is equipped): On the respective front benches, the Government members and the sitting shadow cabinet that Vorderbänkler (engl. The opposition front bencher ); behind it, so "on the back benches", sit the other, less important parliamentarians. In a figurative sense, the term has a negative connotation .

Situation in Germany

The derogatory connotation of the term “backbencher” for members of parliament without a function (parliamentary group chairman, deputy parliamentary group chairman, parliamentary group leader, committee chairman, specialist spokesman, parliamentary president, deputy parliamentary president, secretary in the presidium of a parliament, parliamentary state secretary) often overlooks the fact that the main work of a parliamentary parliamentary debates is done, but rather in the technical work in the committees, some of which do not meet in public and therefore usually do not attract public attention.

In the dictionary on politics , which was published under the direction of the political scientist Manfred G. Schmidt , the following descriptive definition can be found in the 1995 edition : "Backbench (from English backbench = rear row of seats in the lower house, backbencher = H.), one less significant member of the House of Commons, mostly used mockingly or derogatory term for a less important member of parliament. ” In contrast, the political scientist Heinrich Oberreuter defined in an article in a manual in 1970 the type of“ backbencher ”with the following rating:

"[...] It is therefore advisable to only designate those MPs as backbenchers who generally do not make a positive contribution to the will-formation of the parliamentary group or parliament, do not take on any or at most modest tasks in parliamentary work and at most on subordinate and mostly local issues Take position. [...] The position of the backbencher is not systemic, it is taken voluntarily. It results from a narrow understanding of the tasks and duties of a mandate. "

Oberreuter failed to realize that there are basically fewer positions to be filled in a parliament than members of parliament and that at the same time the demands on functions are linked to the respective strength of a parliamentary group; a large parliamentary group logically has more “backbenchers” than a small parliamentary group if, at the same time, parliamentary practice states that, for example, each parliamentary group represented in parliament has a vice-president. In this respect, the position of a "backbencher" is rarely chosen voluntarily, but results from the election result and the rules of procedure of a parliament. “Backbenchers” are often experts on certain topics who concentrate on the work in the working groups of their group and also in the specialist committees of their respective party and in the parliamentary committees and are therefore wrongly viewed as “unimportant”.

German Bundestag

In the German Bundestag , the hierarchy in the plenary hall is made clear by the fact that only the members of the parliament in the front rows of seats have their own tables, including telephones, at their seats. The group leaders always sit there. The “backbenchers”, however, have the same duties and rights as all other MPs.

In contrast to other parliaments, there have been no permanent seats in the plenary hall of the German Bundestag since 1986. Before the move to the Bonn waterworks this year, the back seats also had tables. A member of parliament can therefore freely choose his seat within the seat segment of his group: In debates on complex topics in which only the specialists from the respective groups take part, they then sit in the front rows. In this respect, the term “backbencher” in connection with the German Bundestag is only to be used in a figurative sense.

At times in the 1980s more than 100 members of the right wing of the SPD parliamentary group (referred to in the party jargon as “ canal workers ”) were among the “backbenchers”.

Under the title "Backbenchers are the top earners in the Bundestag", it was reported in the summer of 2015 that almost all of the current front runners in the additional income subject to declaration were to be included in the ranks of the "backbenchers".

Hamburg citizenship

In the 18th electoral term of the Hamburg parliament , the CDU parliamentary group achieved its greatest strength so far in the 2004 election with 63 seats. 32 MPs entered the state parliament for the first time. Since the number of possible functions within parliament does not grow proportionally with the strength of a parliamentary group (see above), the CDU parliamentary group consisted for the most part of "backbenchers" in this electoral term. Due to this situation, two MPs, Dietrich Hoth and Herbert Winter , could not give a single speech in plenary during the entire electoral term. In the Hamburg citizenship there are fixed seats for all members. However, the respective parliamentary groups regulate their seating arrangements independently; if two MPs want to move by mutual agreement, a “backbencher” can get a front seat and vice versa.

Situation in Switzerland

In contrast, in the Swiss National Council , the important politicians are currently sitting in the back rows so that they can better see what is happening in the hall and have the shortest possible way from the foyer to their seat.

See also

Jakob Maria Mierscheid , fictional archetype of a backbencher

literature

Web links

Wiktionary: Backbencher  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Overview of the meanings of the term "backbencher" in the Duden : "(educationally disparaging) Member who does not appear in parliament, does not have much influence"
  2. ^ Walter Henkels: Local appointment in Bonn. Pabel-Moewig Verlag, Rastatt 1987, ISBN 3-8118-4859-3 , p. 147.
  3. ↑ Thomas Vitzthum: Backbenchers are the top earners in the Bundestag. Welt.de , August 5, 2015, accessed January 26, 2016 .
  4. ^ Parliamentary database of the Hamburg Citizenship Search for Hoth and Winter in all plenary minutes of the 18th electoral term. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
  5. ↑ Rules of Procedure of the Hamburg Citizenship in the version dated March 2, 2015 (Official Gazette 2015, p. 613)
  6. ↑ Swiss National Council: All national councilors would like to be backbenchers. ( Memento from May 23, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) on: tagesanzeiger.ch , November 18, 2007.