Politics in Hamburg
Politics in Hamburg has a peculiarity in that the city-state Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg is both a municipality and a member state . Hamburg's politics accordingly range from details of local politics to the federal political influence of the state through the Federal Council .
The general election in Hamburg 2020 took place on February 23.
Political system of Hamburg
The legal basis of the political system are the Basic Law and the Constitution of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg .
As a member state ( Land ) of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg has its own statehood. It is republic , democracy , welfare state and rule of law . At the same time, it is a single municipality ( unitary municipality ), according to Article 4 of the Constitution of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg there is no separation between state and municipal tasks .
In the parlance of the territorial countries:
Hamburg | Flat land |
---|---|
Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg | State and municipality at the same time |
Citizenship | Landtag and at the same time local council |
senate | State government and, at the same time, local administration and head of state |
First Mayor | Prime Minister and Mayor at the same time |
Second mayor | Deputy Prime Minister and Mayor |
Senator, President of an authority | State minister and alderman at the same time |
State Council , Senate Syndicate | State Secretary |
Senate Chancellery | State Chancellery |
Deputation | Special citizen participation body, assigned to the senator at his authority |
authority | State Ministry |
district | State and at the same time urban administrative district |
District Assembly | Elected representative body on the level below the community in the 7 districts |
District Office Manager | Head of administration in the districts |
legislative branch
The legislative power ( legislature ) is exercised by the representative body or directly by the people.
- Hamburg citizenship
The Hamburg Parliament has the country's Parliament functions in particular
- the legislation,
- the election of the First Mayor,
- the control of the Senate.
- choice
As a representative of the people , the citizenship is elected for a period of five years in general, direct, free, equal and secret elections. With the amendment of Hamburg's electoral law , since the 2008 election, some of the members of the electorate have been directly elected in the 17 electoral districts with the option of accumulating or distributing several votes. The proportional representation system , which was heavily personalized on the basis of a referendum , was then expanded again ( 2011 election ). The same applies to the elections to the district assemblies, which have so far been held at the same time and will take place in parallel to the European elections from 2014 onwards .
- People's legislation
According to the Hamburg constitution, legislation can also be passed directly by the people. See also the main article in the People's Legislation (Hamburg) .
executive
- Senate of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg
The executive power ( executive ) rests with the Senate of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg as a state government that leads the management and supervision and the city-state represents to the outside and represents. The Senate is headed by the First Mayor as President of the Senate. Every senator is regularly head of department ( president ) of a ministry ( authority ). The Senate can appoint Senate syndici for support who advise and represent it. These state councilors (political officials) are also the highest officials in their respective departments (senate authorities and offices).
Each senator is assigned deputations in his or her authority , which, as special participation bodies of the people, consist of citizens (deputies) who work on a voluntary basis.
Judiciary
- Hamburg Constitutional Court
The judicial power ( judiciary ) is exercised by the Hamburg Constitutional Court and 17 other courts in the state .
The professional judges of the specialized courts are appointed by the Senate in accordance with Article 63 of the Constitution on the proposal of a judges' selection committee.
District level
The districts in Hamburg each have district offices for decentralized administrative tasks , headed by the district office manager . Resolutions at the district level are made by the parliaments elected there, the district assemblies . Legally, however, these have the status of administrative committees with limited powers. If decisions there run counter to the Senate's policy or are of importance for the city as a whole, the Senate can take the decision to itself (right of evocation ).
Representation and politics outside of Hamburg
Hamburg is represented in the Federal Republic of Germany with three votes in the Federal Council and maintains the representation of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg to the federal government in Berlin , with the federal representative at its head. In the German Bundestag are six MPs Hamburg via the direct mandates of federal electoral districts Altona , Bergedorf - Harburg , Eimsbüttel , Hamburg-Mitte , Hamburg-Nord and Wandsbek and other Members represented on the national list.
In the European Union , Hamburg is represented in the Committee of the Regions and maintains the Hanse Office in Brussels .
Overview of the legislative periods
Before 1945
see article on the history of Hamburg and the history of the citizenship . Furthermore, Hamburg Senate 1861–1919 ; Hamburg Senate 1919–1933 ; Hamburg Senate under National Socialism .
1945 to 2011
Hamburg was ruled by SPD- led senates from 1946 to 1953 and from 1957 to 2001 . In the meantime, from 1953 to 1957, there was a bourgeois coalition of the CDU , FDP and German party under the CDU politician Kurt Sieveking . After the Hamburg Constitutional Court declared the 1991 election of 1991 to be invalid due to undemocratic candidate lists by the CDU in Hamburg, an electoral association ( STATT party DIE INDEPENDENT) with the former CDU rebel Markus Wegner was able to move into the town hall for the first time and cooperate with the SPD until 1997. Subsequently, a coalition of SPD / GAL ruled . Since the elections in October 2001, a coalition of the CDU, the Rule of Law Party (PRO) and the FDP has ruled, which was terminated by the Mayor Ole von Beust (CDU) after the breakup of the PRO on December 9, 2003 . The new elections on February 29, 2004 ended with an absolute majority for the CDU. The Rule of Law Offensive party, which received 19.4% of the vote in the last election, and the ProDM / Schill of ex-Interior Senator Ronald Schill and Euro critic Bolko Hoffmann , just like the FDP, missed entry into the citizenry. The SPD, which ruled for 44 years before 2001, had its worst result after 1945 with 30.5%, while the GAL was able to gain significantly. The absolute majority of the CDU ended with the elections in February 2008, without there having been a majority for a coalition within the classic camps. A government coalition consisting of the CDU and GAL was then formed, which constituted the first black-green state government in Germany. Ole von Beust was again First Mayor. A central political project of the coalition, the school reform , failed in a referendum on July 18, 2010. Even during the voting period, Mayor Ole von Beust announced his resignation on August 25, 2010, his successor being the former Interior Senator Christoph Ahlhaus . The new Senate Ahlhaus collapsed on November 28, 2010 with the withdrawal of the GAL from the coalition. Until the election of a new First Mayor on March 7, 2011 after the early elections on February 20, 2011, the remaining CDU senators formed a minority senate.
Current Senate
Peter Tschentscher, SPD: since March 28, 2018, first mayor
Katharina Fegebank, Greens: since April 15, 2015, second mayor
Election results
Elections for Hamburg citizenship since 1945 | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Election date | Voter | SPD | CDU | Green 1 | FDP | The left 2 | AfD | PER | INSTEAD OF | DP |
VBH (1949) / HB (1953) |
KPD | Rest |
1st election on October 13, 1946 | 79.0% | 43.1% | 26.7% | - | 18.2% | - | - | - | - | - | - | 10.4% | 1.6% |
Second election on October 16, 1949 | 70.5% | 42.8% | s. VBH | - | s. VBH | - | - | - | - | 13.3% | 34.5% | 7.4% | 2.0% |
3rd election of November 1, 1953 | 81.0% | 45.2% | s. HB | - | s. HB | - | - | - | - | s. HB | 50.0% | 3.2% | 1.6% |
4th election on November 10, 1957 | 77.3% | 53.9% | 32.2% | - | 8.6% | - | - | - | - | 4.1% | - | - | 1.2% |
5th election on November 12, 1961 | 72.3% | 57.4% | 29.1% | - | 9.6% | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3.9% |
6th election of March 27, 1966 | 69.8% | 59.0% | 30.0% | - | 6.8% | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4.2% |
7th election of March 22, 1970 | 73.4% | 55.3% | 32.8% | - | 7.1% | - | - | - | - | 0.1% | - | - | 4.7% |
8th election of March 3, 1974 | 80.4% | 45.0% | 40.6% | - | 10.9% | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3.5% |
9th election of June 4, 1978 | 76.6% | 51.5% | 37.6% | 4.5% | 4.8% | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.7% |
10th election of June 6, 1982 | 77.8% | 42.7% | 43.2% | 7.7% | 4.9% | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.5% |
Election of December 19, 1982 | 84.0% | 51.3% | 38.6% | 6.8% | 2.6% | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0.7% |
12th election on November 9, 1986 | 77.8% | 41.7% | 41.9% | 10.4% | 4.8% | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.2% |
13th election on May 17, 1987 | 79.5% | 45.0% | 40.5% | 7.0% | 6.5% | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0% |
14th election of June 2, 1991 | 66.1% | 48.0% | 35.1% | 7.2% | 5.4% | 0.5% | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3.8% |
15th election on September 19, 1993 | 69.6% | 40.4% | 25.1% | 13.5% | 4.2% | 0.5% | - | - | 5.6% | - | - | - | 10.7% |
16th election on September 21, 1997 | 68.7% | 36.2% | 30.7% | 13.9% | 3.5% | 0.7% | - | - | 3.8% | 0.0% | - | - | 11.1% |
17th election on September 23, 2001 | 71.0% | 36.5% | 26.2% | 8.6% | 5.1% | 0.4% | - | 19.4% | 0.4% | - | - | - | 3.8% |
18th election on February 29, 2004 | 68.7% | 30.5% | 47.2% | 12.3% | 2.8% | 0.4% | - | 0.4% | - | - | - | - | 6.8% |
19th election on February 24, 2008 | 63.5% | 34.1% | 42.6% | 9.6% | 4.8% | 6.4% | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.5% |
20th election on February 20, 2011 | 57.3% | 48.4% | 21.9% | 11.2% | 6.7% | 6.4% | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5.4% |
21st election on February 15, 2015 | 56.5% | 45.6% | 15.9% | 12.3% | 7.4% | 8.5% | 6.1% | - | - | - | - | - | 4.2% |
22nd election on February 23, 2020 | 63.2% | 39.2% | 11.2% | 24.2% | 4.97% | 9.1% | 5.3% | - | - | - | - | - | 6.0% |
- 1 1978 Colorful List and GLU , until 2011 Green Alternative List
- 2 Until 2007 PDS .
For more detailed results and the allocation of seats - including the district assemblies - see election results in Hamburg .
Political issues
The political issues that the citizenship and the Senate deal with cover a broad spectrum. They range from foreign policy issues through federal legislation to municipal matters, which may also be discussed in the district assemblies. Outside the constitutional organs, the political parties of the Hanseatic city, but also other institutions, clubs, associations and civic interest groups devote themselves to different subject areas.
Examples of some political issues with particular reference to Hamburg:
education and Science
- Restructuring of the Hamburg university landscape (from 2002), such as creation of faculties and integration of the Hamburg University of Economics and Politics into the University of Hamburg (2005).
- Introduction of tuition fees at universities (2004).
- Reforms in the general school system, such as the school reform in Hamburg (2009/10 with referendum)
Finances and budget
- Current debt or the achievement of a balanced national budget.
- Financing or increasing costs for major projects such as the Elbphilharmonie (from 2004) or underground line 4 (from 2007).
- A parliamentary committee of inquiry "Elbphilharmonie" set up in 2010 to clarify the construction delays and cost increases.
- The financial crisis of the Landesbank HSH Nordbank with a resulting committee of inquiry set up in 2009 by Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein.
Urban development and the environment
- Urban development under the motto growing city (since 2008 growing with foresight ).
- Construction of HafenCity and further development from Veddel, Wilhelmsburg to Harburg under the motto Jump over the Elbe .
- Gentrification of districts.
- Mühlenberger Loch . Funding for Airbus expansion (2001–2003).
- Construction of the Moorburg power plant (2007)
Judiciary
- The topic of internal security that u. a. led to the change of government to the CDU and Schill party and the criminal prosecution policy under Roger Kusch see: Prison Policy # Hamburg (illustration 1919–1933; 2001–2006)
Transport and infrastructure
- Construction of a road connection between two motorways in the harbor ( Hafenquerspange / Hafenpassage ) and relocation of Wilhelmsburger Reichsstraße
- Abolition of the tram (1978) and reintroduction of the Hamburg Stadtbahn .
- Privatization of the gas, electricity and district heating supply (HeinGas Hamburger Gaswerke GmbH to E.ON Hanse 2003, Hamburgische Electricitäts-Werke - HEW to Vattenfall 2002) and the counter-trend of “remunicipalisation in Hamburg”.
Referenda / right to vote
- Introduction of the people's legislation in Hamburg (1996) and later requests to strengthen it.
- Change of electoral law (2004 and several changes until 2009).
Economy and port
- Port of Hamburg . Expansion and adaptation of the port.
- Elbe deepening , the deepening of the Elbe for larger ships operated since 1818.
other topics
- Privatization of the Landesbetrieb Hospitals to Asklepios Kliniken Hamburg (2007).
- Construction trailer sites or their evacuation, such as Bambule (2002).
- Northern state . Since the Second World War there has been discussion of merging countries with neighboring federal states.
Historical themes
- Hamburg port workers strike 1896/97
- Suffrage robbery (1906)
- Hafenstrasse (squatting 1984–1990)
European politics
Hamburg represents its interests in the European Union in a variety of ways by participating in various organs and committees, e.g. B. in the European Parliament , the Committee of the Regions and through the representation of the states of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein in the EU, the so-called Hanse Office .
Hamburg's European policy is coordinated by the Senate Chancellery under the leadership of the First Mayor Olaf Scholz ( SPD ). The State Councilor responsible for European policy is currently Wolfgang Schmidt. As an authorized representative at the federal government, the European Union and for foreign affairs, Schmidt is also responsible for the affairs of the Hamburg state representation in Berlin and the Hanse Office , the representation of the states of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein at the EU in Brussels . Head of the Hanse Office for Hamburg is Dr. Claus Müller.
In August 2010, the then ruling black-green Senate presented its European policy priorities.
In the Hamburg Citizenship , the European Committee is responsible for cross-sectional European policy issues, currently chaired by Alexander Wolf ( AfD ). In the current electoral term (2014-2019), Hamburg is represented in the European Parliament by two members: Knut Fleckenstein (SPD) and Fabio De Masi ( Die Linke ). In the Committee of the Regions Hamburg is currently by Barbara Duden represented (SPD).
See also
- List of Hamburg mayors
- List of presidents of the Hamburg citizenship
- List of interior senators of Hamburg
- List of Hamburg Senators for Economic Affairs
- List of finance senators from Hamburg
- List of Justice Senators from Hamburg
- List of the Hamburg Labor Senators
- List of the Hamburg Senators for Science
- Results of the state elections in the Federal Republic of Germany
Individual evidence
- ↑ Der Spiegel from July 18, 2010: The wording of Ole von Beust's resignation speech
- ↑ Hamburger Abendblatt of August 25, 2010: Ahlhaus elected mayor with votes from the opposition
- ↑ Black-green failed in Hamburg. Archived from the original on November 29, 2010 ; Retrieved November 28, 2010 .
- ↑ Information on Hamburg's current European policy in the EU regional portal ( Memento from February 3, 2014 in the Internet Archive ). Retrieved on June 25, 2012
- ↑ Hanse Office - News. Retrieved December 16, 2019 .
- ^ European political priorities 2010 ( Memento from January 31, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 359 kB)
- ^ Members of the Committee of the Regions. Retrieved December 22, 2015