Political system of Bavaria

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Large state coat of arms of the Free State of Bavaria

The political system of the Free State of Bavaria is based on the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Constitution of the Free State of Bavaria .

In the federal system of Germany , the Free State of Bavaria is a member state that is organized according to the principles of a republican , social and democratic constitutional state . The executive is headed by the Prime Minister , the legislature lies with the state parliament , and the state has its own constitutional jurisdiction .

Bavaria is the largest country in terms of area and the second largest in terms of population in the Federal Republic of Germany . Due to the fact that the Christian Social Union (CSU) - the only people's party limited to a single federal state - has been in government responsibility without interruption since 1957 and has consistently achieved the absolute majority of state parliament mandates since 1962, with one interruption in the legislative period from 2008 to 2013 could, Bavaria exerts a considerable influence on federal politics.

Constitution

The Kingdom of Bavaria was one of the first German states to receive a constitution as early as 1808 . The current Constitution of Bavaria came to a referendum on December 1 at 8. December 1946 into force.

Since the Bavarian Constitution was created before the Basic Law , it not only regulates the structure of the state, but also had to take into account all areas that were previously laid down in the Imperial Constitution. This is reflected in the four main parts on the structure and tasks of the state (Articles 1–97), fundamental rights and obligations (Articles 98–123), community life (Articles 124–150) and the complex of economy and work (Articles 151– 177).

The Maximilianeum is the Bavarian state parliament building

The entry into force of the constitution, the Bavarian Constitution became less important, since many provisions of the Bavarian Constitution have their counterpart in the Basic Law and there in Article 31 established principle of " federal law overrides state law " for the Constitutional law.

The constitution remained unchanged for the first 22 years after it came into force. Important constitutional changes in 1970 by lowering the voting age, the introduction of national policy objective the protection of natural resources in 1984 and the introduction of the local citizens' decision in 1995. The most dramatic constitutional change was on 8. February 1998 confirmed in three referendums. Through them, various articles were changed, revised or deleted in the law amending the constitution of the Free State of Bavaria - constitutional reform law - further development in the area of ​​fundamental rights and state goals. Among other things, it regulated the terms of office of state organs and abolished the Bavarian Senate .

organs

The structure and tasks of the individual organs are determined according to the principle of the separation of powers . The sovereignty rests with the people , who are represented in the legislature by the state parliament. The executive branch is exercised by the Bavarian state government . The judiciary is in the hands of independent courts and the Bavarian Constitutional Court .

legislative branch

Legislation in Bavaria is the responsibility of the state parliament and, through forms of direct democracy, the people.

Parliament

22nd
38
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27
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22nd 38 11 27 85 22nd 
A total of 205 seats

The members of the state parliament are elected for five years in general, equal, direct and secret elections according to an " improved proportional representation ": Here, proportional representation and majority voting are combined and the voters can not only put one party on their list with their second vote , but also a special candidate tick and thus change the sequence of the list candidates considerably. The number of seats in the state parliament is calculated by adding the first and second votes of the nominations according to the Hare-Niemeyer procedure .

Before the end of its actual electoral period, the state parliament can dissolve itself by a majority resolution or, at the request of one million citizens entitled to vote , can be dismissed by a referendum .

The Landtag is responsible for passing laws and voting on the budget of the Free State.

He elects the Bavarian Prime Minister and confirms the members of the Bavarian State Government . He exercises control of the state government through the right to quote , the right to ask questions and the possibility of setting up investigative committees and enquête commissions . A vote of no confidence is not provided for in the Bavarian Constitution, but the Prime Minister must resign if trusting cooperation with the State Parliament is no longer possible due to political circumstances. If he doesn't, he can be charged before the Bavarian Constitutional Court .
Furthermore, the state parliament is responsible for the election review and the election of the Bavarian data protection officer.

While the legislative tasks have decreased in recent decades due to federal competencies and the expansion of EU powers, the state parliament members are increasingly looking after local and regional interests vis-à-vis the state administration.

The state parliament is a working parliament; most of the parliamentary work takes place in the 12 standing committees , not in the plenary. In addition to the standing committees, there is the Parliamentary Control Committee , the Data Protection Commission, the Judge Election Commission and the Intermediate Committee . At the beginning of a legislative period, the MPs elect the Presidium and the Council of Elders.

senate

The Bavarian Senate was until its abolition on 1 January 2000 the second chamber of Parliament and unique in Germany.

The 60 members of the Bavarian Senate, who had to be at least 40 years old, were elected by social, economic, community and cultural bodies for six years or, in the case of religious communities, appointed. Each of the groups was entitled to a fixed number of seats. Since the Senate was a permanent body, a third of the seats were filled every two years. Senate members were not allowed to be members of the state parliament at the same time, but enjoyed similar rights as these. The Senate participated in the legislative process as an advisory body. He had expert opinions on bills and was given a simple right of objection in the legislation, which the state parliament could overrule with a simple majority.

The popular initiative “Lean State without Senate” by the Ecological Democratic Party (ödp) in June 1997 achieved the required number of votes with 10.5%. In the following referendum on February 8, 1998 , 69.2% voted for the abolition of the Senate. 23.6% voted for the CSU's counter-draft , which provided for a change in the composition of the Senate. After the Bavarian Constitutional Court had declared the referendum to be constitutional, the law to abolish the Senate came into force on January 1, 2000 . The Senate and thus the only two-chamber system in a federal state until then ceased to exist.

executive

The entire state administration is subordinate to the state government as the highest political governing body. Subordinate to the state ministries are the supreme state authorities, the intermediate authorities and the sub-authorities.

State government

The Bavarian State Government is the highest executive authority of the Free State of Bavaria. It consists of the prime minister and up to 17 state ministers and state secretaries . The current Prime Minister is Markus Söder ( CSU ).

former Prime Minister Edmund Stoiber

He is elected by the state parliament no later than 22 days (since the referendum of September 21, 2003) after its constituent session for a period of five years by secret ballot . Every Bavarian who is eligible to vote is eligible as long as he has reached the age of 40. The state parliament cannot remove the prime minister from office. However, the constitution prescribes his resignation if a trusting cooperation with the state parliament is no longer possible due to political circumstances (Article 44, Paragraph 3 of the Bavarian Constitution). If he doesn't, he can be charged before the Bavarian Constitutional Court.

The prime minister directs the affairs of the state government. With the consent of the Landtag, he appoints and dismisses his deputy and the members of the state government to whom he assigns business areas or special tasks. He is responsible for the political guidelines and represents Bavaria externally. In his actions he is responsible to the state parliament. In individual cases, the Prime Minister can make use of a pardon .

Bavarian State Chancellery, Munich

The Bavarian State Chancellery supports the Prime Minister and the State Government in their constitutional tasks. These are in particular:

  • the implementation of the laws and resolutions of the state parliament
  • the right of initiative
  • the appointment of senior officials in the state ministries and the highest state authorities
  • the supervision of the entire state administration
  • the supervision of the municipalities and the corporations and foundations under public law
  • the exercise of the right of emergency under Article 48 of the Bavarian Constitution. However, this emergency law is severely restricted in terms of the content of the emergency case regulated in the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany in accordance with the principle of “federal law breaks state law”.

Administrative authorities

The administrative authorities are mainly concerned with implementing the laws that have been passed. The structure of the authorities in Bavaria is divided into three stages:

The highest state authorities are at the head of the administration. These are the State Ministries, the State Chancellery and the Supreme Audit Office .
The state middle authorities stand between the ministries to which they are subordinate and the lower authorities that oversee them. The middle authorities include: B. the governments of the seven districts, the police headquarters and the Oberfinanzdirektion .
Under authorities are ultimately downstream administrative authorities, such as the district offices , or highway departments.

State Audit Office

The state audit office , whose members are elected by the state parliament, assesses the state finances from an external position.

Judiciary

The Free State of Bavaria is the court holder of the Bavarian Constitutional Court and the specialized courts.

Constitutional Court

Courthouse in Prielmayerstr. 5

The Constitutional Court is the highest court for constitutional issues in Bavaria. Its 38 honorary judges are elected with a simple majority by the state parliament and decide on

There is also the popular action for every citizen in Bavaria the possibility lawsuit against laws, legislation or regulations before the Constitutional Court to be raised. A Bavarian peculiarity is that a citizen can also file a lawsuit without being affected.

Specialized courts

See main article list of courts of the Free State of Bavaria

In addition to constitutional jurisdiction, there are five branches of special jurisdiction common in Germany in Bavaria :

Legislative process

see: Legislative procedure in Bavaria

The legislative procedure is regulated by the constitution and proceeds as follows:

The legislative process in Bavaria

Legislative initiative

The bills can be introduced from the center of the state parliament, by the prime minister on behalf of the state government or by the people.

Treatment in the state parliament

All bills, including successful plebiscites, are submitted to the President of the State Parliament and dealt with in two readings , unless a third reading is requested. For the readings, the bills are to be put on the agenda of the state parliament. In the first reading only the principles of the submission are discussed and the state parliament forwards them to the responsible committee. This advises on the draft law with the involvement of other committees concerned and takes a resolution that is passed on to the General Assembly as a recommendation for a resolution. A general discussion took place as a second reading. An individual consultation of all provisions of the draft law or an individual vote only takes place if this is required. Motions to amend the draft law can be submitted up to the end of the second reading. A third reading is only available on special request.

Final vote

At the end of the readings, the adoption - unchanged or in the version modified in the committees or still in the plenary meeting - or rejection of the bill will be voted on. Laws that amend the constitution must achieve a two-thirds majority in the state parliament and then be passed in a referendum by the citizens entitled to vote. For other laws, a simple majority is sufficient.

Notice and entry into force

The constitutional laws are forwarded to the Prime Minister, who signs them and has them published in the Bavarian Law and Ordinance Gazette within a week. Every law must specify the day on which it comes into force (Article 76 BV).

Referendum and referendum

The state constitution allows the people to participate in the legislative process. The referendum takes place after a successful approval process, which requires the support of at least 25,000 citizens . If at least a tenth of the citizens eligible to vote support the referendum, the state parliament has three options for dealing with the resulting bill:

  • He can adopt it unchanged and pass it on as law.
  • He can reject it and then has to hold a referendum on the bill.
  • He can make an alternative proposal and introduce it in a referendum against the referendum.

Important referendums in Bavarian history were, for example, the " Volksbegehren Rundfunkfreiheit ", which successfully demanded in 1972 that radio and television should be operated exclusively under public law, and the 1995 referendum, "Kommunaler Bürgerentscheid" , which had set itself the goal of being localized Introducing citizens' petitions and referendums as elements of direct democracy. In the subsequent referendum, 57.8% voted for the initiators' draft law and 38.7% for the state parliament's counter-draft. The popular initiative “Lean State without Senate” , which led to the abolition of the second chamber of the Bavarian state parliament, certainly had the most far-reaching consequences .

Local self-government

The local self-government is in Bavaria by the seven districts , 71 counties , 25 county-level cities and 2,031 belonging to a county towns and cities exercised.

Local suffrage

The Bavarian local electoral law can be described as proportional representation with open lists, but has some special features. Different parties and groups of voters can enter into list connections, there is no threshold clause and there is the possibility of cumulation (up to three votes can be cast on one candidate) and of variegation (votes can be distributed to candidates from different lists). General local elections take place in Bavaria every six years, the last election took place in March 2020.

This system favors a person-related voting decision, whereas the party or group of voters is not so much in the foreground. This offers a real chance, especially for smaller parties, of appointing elected representatives if they are well known and popular.

The Bavarian districts

Districts

The districts , whose territory is identical to the state administrative level administrative district, are responsible for municipal tasks that districts and municipalities could not manage on their own. You take over u. a. Tasks in the health system ( district hospitals for psychiatry ), the school system (schools for the hearing and speech impaired) and in nature conservation .

For each district, a district assembly is elected for 5 years at the same time as the state parliament , which determines the lines of politics and elects the district assembly president as the executive body.

Counties

The rural districts are on the one hand lower administrative authorities with assigned administrative tasks, on the other hand they also perform their own tasks. The assigned tasks include, for example, responsibility for unemployment benefit II together with the Federal Employment Agency or the organization of the rescue service and disaster control . Own tasks are in the health care system (district hospitals), the school system (material expenditure carriers for high schools , secondary schools and vocational schools ) and waste disposal.

The district is administered and directed by the district council , which is elected for six years, and its chairman, the district administrator.

Communities

The municipalities are also both lower administrative authorities with assigned administrative tasks and independent institutions with their own tasks. The assigned tasks include issuing passports , issuing income tax cards and participating in state and federal elections . Own tasks are in social affairs (maintenance of kindergartens ), water supply and public safety ( fire brigade ).

In addition to the municipalities, there is a special form of the district-free cities , which are legally on the same level as the rural districts and have more extensive tasks than district-affiliated municipalities. An alternative to a large community is the amalgamation of several smaller communities to form an administrative community . In this case the member communities merge their administrations, but remain legally and institutionally independent.

In addition to managing community still exists as a form of municipal cooperation Zweckverband in which unite several communities to tasks that they could alone financially difficult to manage, work together to solve (eg. As water supply , sanitation ).

The communities are organized on the basis of the South German Council Constitution . They are administered and directed by the municipal council elected for six years and its chairman, the mayor . The ( lord ) mayor has a strong position in these municipal regulations , as he implements the decisions of the council, represents the municipality externally and is the head of the municipal administration.

Parties and associations

Parties represented in the Bundestag

In the sense of the concept of party democracy , the parties have a central position in the political life of the Free State. All major parties are represented by regional associations in Bavaria.

In the party system, the Christian Democratic - conservative CSU dominates as the "hegemonic party", a term coined by party researcher Alf Mintzel : Since the first state election in Bavaria in 1946 , the CSU has been in power until the reign of Wilhelm Hoegner ( SPD , 1954–1957) Prime Minister of the country. With the exception of the elections in 1950 , the CSU was always the strongest force in the Bavarian state parliament , and from 1962 to 2008 it ruled uninterruptedly with an absolute majority of mandates.

In addition, the SPD and the Greens are regularly represented in the state parliament . While the SPD and FDP in no other West German state have such a low influx as in Bavaria, the election results of the GREENS are mostly slightly below the national average. The FDP fails due to the dominance of the CSU mostly on the five-percent hurdle , being made in national elections in Bavaria significantly better results than in state elections; This can be traced back to a so-called "loan vote campaign" by CSU voters at the state level. Although the party affiliation of voters to a certain party in Germany has fallen sharply overall, this trend can only be observed to a limited extent in Bavaria; the CSU succeeds in retaining the majority of voters.

Coalition considerations played only a subordinate role at the state level due to the decade-long sole government of the CSU; After the state elections in 2008, the SPD tried to forge a "coalition of the opposition" to replace the CSU in view of the changed majority situation.

Other parties

In the Bavarian state parliament elections, splinter parties have achieved very good election results for a large state since the 1980s. The Republicans have since achieved results between one and five percent. The Free Voters - who have also been present at the state level since 1998 - were around four percent before they entered the state parliament for the first time in 2008 as the third largest party. The ÖDP has remained relatively constant at around two percent since 1990 and the Bavarian party at around one percent at the same time.

The Bavarian municipal electoral law enables many smaller parties or groups of voters to be present in local or district parliaments. At the municipal level, the free voters are a serious alternative, which, benefiting from the personal municipal suffrage in Bavaria, can always win around 15% of the votes in local elections, and in many municipalities they can provide mayors and even some district administrators. Smaller parties like the ÖDP or the Republicans or non-partisan voter communities also have a good chance of being able to place a few elected representatives in local councils or district assemblies. Above all, the ÖDP knows how to use the direct democratic instrument of the popular initiative to do effective opposition work outside of parliament. For example, in 1996 and 1997 she initiated the popular initiative “Lean State without Senate” , which in 1998 resulted in the dissolution of the Bavarian Senate at the turn of the year 1999/2000.

Bavaria in the federal government

According to the structural principles laid down in Article 20 of the Basic Law , the Federal Republic of Germany is a federal state in which the states are fundamentally involved in legislation (see eternity clause ). Article 30 of the Basic Law provides that the exercise of state power is basically a matter for the Länder, unless the Basic Law provides otherwise.

The legislative power is divided 70 et seq. Between federal and state after enumerative principle in the articles. The exclusive legislative competence of the states by and large includes cultural and educational policy, the media, state and local government and the police. The state participates in federal legislation through the Bundesrat , in which Bavaria has six votes.

In the federal elections , Bavaria always sent 80 to 95 members to Berlin and has a special weight there, especially in the Union faction due to the special status of the CSU as an independent party.

Bavaria in Europe

Via the Bundesrat , the states can also participate in matters of the European Union in which areas of responsibility of the states would be affected. In addition, Bavaria maintains a state representative in Brussels in a central location between the European Parliament and the Committee of the Regions and can thus specifically advocate its interests on site.

In order to adequately secure the influence of the countries in Europe, the Bavarian State Government campaigned heavily in 1992 to create what would later become the Committee of the Regions at European level and was able to appoint its Secretary General. This is at the side of the EU Commission in an advisory capacity and must be heard, for example, on educational and cultural issues.

In the European elections , Bavaria always sent twelve to 16 MPs until the EU expanded to the east . In 2004 there are only eleven left, nine of which are from the CSU and two from the SPD . In the 7th electoral period (2009-2014) there are 15 Bavarian MPs: Albert Deß (CSU), Ismali Ertug (SPD), Markus Ferber (CSU), Gerald Häfner ( Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen ), Thomas Handel ( Die Linke ) , Nadja Hirsch ( FDP ), Monika Hohlmeier (CSU), Martin Kastler (CSU), Wolfgang Kreissl-Dörfler (SPD), Barbara Lochbihler (Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen), Angelika Niebler (CSU), Bernd Posselt (CSU), Manfred Weber (CSU), Anja Weisgerber (CSU), Kerstin Westpfahl (SPD). The Bavarian member of the Committee of the Regions is currently the head of the regional representation in Brussels, Emilia Müller .

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Further information on Bavarian European policy in the EU regional portal ( Memento of the original from March 5, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved June 25, 2012 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / regionalportal.eu-kommission.de

literature

  • Reinhold Bocklet L. (ed.): The system of government of Bavaria. 3 volumes. Vögel, Munich 1977–1982;
    • Volume 1: Contributions. 1977;
    • Volume 2: Contributions. 1979;
    • Volume 3: Materials. 1982, ISBN 3-920896-72-6 .
  • Frank Höfer: The political order in Bavaria (= basic information on politics. Vol. 3). 6th edition. Bavarian State Center for Political Education, Munich 2001.
  • Helmut Hoffmann: Bavaria. Handbook on state-political cultural studies of the present (= history and state. Vol. 161/162). 8th, completely revised edition. Olzog, Munich 1985, ISBN 3-7892-7271-X .
  • Kurt Hogl, Karl J. Wohlhüter (Ed.): … Under the sky white and blue! The Maximilianeum. A reader about politics in Bavaria. Turmschreiber-Verlag, Pfaffenhofen 1994, ISBN 3-930156-24-5 .
  • Peter James: The politics of Bavaria - an exception to the rule. The special position of the Free State of Bavaria in the New Germany. Avebury, Aldershot et al. 1995, ISBN 1-85972-166-4 .
  • Rainer A. Roth: Free State of Bavaria. Political regional studies (= Bavarian State Center for Political Education. Bd. A 92). 3rd, revised edition. Munich Bavarian State Center for Political Education, 2000.
  • Konrad Stollreither: The Constitution of the Free State of Bavaria. Status: October 1, 2002. Bavarian State Center for Political Education, Munich 2002.

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