Government crisis

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A government crisis is a political situation that endangers the proper government of a country. The concept of the state crisis , which expresses that the constitutional order of a country is endangered because a constitutional body is no longer or can no longer perform its tasks , is not always clearly distinguished from this.

Such a critical situation can have various causes, for example:

In stable democracies , serious government crises are relatively rare and are generally resolved through government reshuffles or negotiations to form new coalitions .

In Europe , frequent causes of government crises were the loss of the ruling majority in parliament, for example as a result of the break-up of a governing party into different wings or the resignation of several members of the parliament . Italy emerged - especially in the second half of the 20th century - as the European country with the most changes of government, which were not always understood as political crises. During this period, the average term of office of an Italian government was rarely more than a year, while in other European countries it was two to three times longer on average.

If a government crisis cannot be averted either by dismissing politically ailing or disliked ministers or by negotiating the formation of a new government, the formation of a minority government can be a way out. With this form of government, the parties represented in the government do not have a majority in parliament and must seek one on a case-by-case basis among the parties represented in parliament in order to be able to officiate successfully. If the end of a government crisis does not succeed, the citizens entitled to vote can deliver other majorities for the formation of a new government in an early election .

Situation in Germany

In the case of a trial of strength within the government, there are orderly procedures in the Federal Republic of Germany for a change of government with a constructive vote of no confidence (Art. 67 GG), the vote of confidence to discipline the government according to Art. 68 GG with or without new elections, or a government reshuffle based on the authority to issue guidelines the Federal Chancellor and the right based on the Basic Law to recommend to the Federal President the dismissal of a cabinet member if cooperation is broken. There were government crises during the term of office of Chancellors Willy Brandt , Helmut Schmidt, Helmut Kohl and Gerhard Schröder.

After the 2017 federal election in the fourth term of office of Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU), after repeated critical discourses on transport policy or the prohibition or approval of glyphosate in the EU, there was a dispute in the government with Interior Minister Horst Seehofer from the CSU with separate parliamentary groups violent verbal attacks in the black-black sister dispute between the Union parties in dealing with migration and asylum seekers. In years of state elections as in the fall of 2018 in Bavaria and Hesse is not obvious at first glance whether a fundamental political conflict leads to a real government crisis or staged for the media attention and controversy from the fence is broken. The political scientist and journalist Christoph Seils speaks of a staging without an acute need for action in the matter (falling refugee numbers), the opposition politician Christian Lindner (FDP) of a provoked government crisis with ultimatums and threats that do not move anything, and a ceasefire without solutions; he agrees that roaring lions do not bite.

See also

  • The temporary settlement of a government crisis with only a short respite in the political power struggle of a broken party or coalition and without a fundamental settlement of a political conflict with a reorganization of the political situation is sometimes compared to the struggle of the Diadochi and the brief Diadoch peace in antiquity.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Compromise, resignation or new election , Die Zeit , June 15, 2018.
  2. ↑ Christian Teevs, Sebastian Fischer: break or liberation? Three scenarios for the government crisis , Spiegel Online , June 15, 2018.
  3. ↑ a b Christoph Seils : Asylum dispute between CDU and CSU , Cicero , June 15, 2018.
  4. ^ "It's a joke": FDP leader Lindner on the armistice in the asylum dispute , Münchner Merkur , June 18, 2018.