compare politics in germany and france

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Workbook Questions

I have chosen to compare politics in Germany and France.

1. a) What are the significant parties and what have been their respective strengths?

The significant parties on the right of the political spectrum in Germany are the CDU/CSU and the FDP. The CDU and CSU, the latter a regional party in Bavaria only, usually gain between 5% and 45% of the votes. The Liberals however only 5% to 8%.




In France, the major party on the right is the UMP, created before the latest presidential election in April 00 to promote the candidacy of Jacques Chirac. This very large party organization is a merger of three parties the Gaullist Party, the UDF, and the Liberal Party. The UMP secures between 40% to 55% of the votes. The other party on the right in France is the Front National, the extreme right party, which fetches up to 0% of the votes.

On the other side of the political spectrum in Germany, the most significant parties are the SPD, the Greens and the former communist party, the PDS. At present, the social democrats and the Greens are coalition partners at national level. The SPD gain 5 % to 45 % of the votes, the Greens 5 to 10% and the PDS around 5%.

In France, the Socialist Party (PS) and the PCF are the most important leftist parties with a share of votes ranging from 0 to 45% for the PS and 10 to 15 % for the PCF.

b) Give a profile of each party- what is its ideology, what groups does it represent and in which regions does its support lie?

In Germany, the CDU and the CSU are ambiguous on a mixed economy. They think the power of the trade unions should be clearly limited; however the welfare system is to be preserved as much as possible. Also, the traditional values such as the family, Christianity and order are to be protected and promoted. These two parties represent the middle class, older citizens and business people. The CDU is supported by a vast majority of the Bavarian population.

The FDP supports a relative deregulation of the economy. This means that the borders of the country should be more opened to immigration and foreign goods. Also, regulations affecting business should be simplified and the power of the trade unions somewhat curbed. Furthermore, the Liberals think that taxes should be reduced. Generally speaking they promote a reduction of the role of the State in economic life, a model closer to the liberalism as we know it today in the UK. Senior public servants are the ones who are most attracted by the FDP ideology, especially in the region of Baden Wurttemberg.

In the SPD’s view, the welfare system is to be protected at all cost, the power of big businesses should be kept within strict limits and the trade unions should play an important role in economic life. This party represents working class people and state employees especially within the traditional industrial regions such as the Ruhr and former Eastern Germany.

The main ideology of the Greens is the protection of the environment but also and recently the promotion of economic liberalism, the modernization of the economic system. The Greens are supported in big cities such as Berlin, Bremen, Cologne, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, by students, young executives and intellectuals.

Finally, the PDS is predictably in favour of high public spending. The party also encourages State intervention in the ownership of companies, in wide ranging regulations and in the redistribution of wealth. The Welfare State in its widest definition should be promoted. Supporters of the PDS include working class people mostly in East Germany and intellectuals.

In France, the UMP is a merger of the Gaullist Party, the UDF and the Liberal Party. The Gaullist Party is of a conservative and nationalist leaning. This party thinks the State should play an important role in economic life and that Europe should be a federation of sovereign states rather than a single entity. Its support is widespread across the whole country i.e. in urban as well as rural areas and across the various social classes.

The UDF is a conservative party, more pro European and keener on free trade than the Gaullists. Its roots tend to be in the country side especially in the western part of France. The UDF is predominantly supported by the middle class.

Finally, the Liberals are in favour of deregulation of the economy. Their supporters tend to be business owners and senior executives in big cities.

The extreme Right’s ideology consists in anti immigration / xenophobia, the closing of borders to foreign competition, the promotion of small businesses rather than big groups, the regulation of the economy and above all an increase in security. Support for the Front National is usually at its strongest in regions with a high proportion of immigrants, such as Provence, the Cote d’Azur, Alsace and northern France. Ex communist party voters form a large part of its voters.

To the left of the political system, the Socialists strongly encourage a very large role by the state in economic life; subsidies, high taxes, redistribution of wealth. The socialist party has strong links with the trade unions. They feel big businesses should be tightly controlled. Mainly working class and middle class citizens in big cities, especially in the South-western part of France, vote for the socialists.

Finally, the PCF is against Europe, against NATO, against the United States, against globalization and economic liberalism. The party exerts a strong influence over one of the largest trade unions, the Confederation Generale du Travail (CGT). Big business and capitalists are the enemy. Large companies and most of the financial system should be owned by the State. Support is drawn mostly from working class people, civil servants, immigrants and those who work in State owned companies. The PCF is at its strongest in big cities and their outskirts and regions where traditional industries are suffering and in those with a high proportion of immigrants.

c) Which parties have combined in coalition to form a government and what coalitions seem possible in the immediate future?

At the moment, in Germany, the SPD and the Greens are forming a coalition at national level with Gerhard Schroeder as Chancellor. Before that, it was the CDU/CSU and the FDP with Helmut Kohl as Chancellor. Given the current economic problems of Germany one could reasonably expect the current coalition to disappear with the Greens breaking away. The Green Party is keen on economic reform which the SPD does not agree on. A new coalition SPD and PDS could be conceivable or even SPD with CDU/CSU.

In France, the UMP is the dominant political party. However it is the result of a merger between, principally, the Gaullists and the UDF. Although a small fraction of the UDF is keen to preserve a separate identity within the coalition, there is no reasonable prospect of a break up at this stage because the two parties are united by a relatively strong ideology and community of interest.

d) What cleavages have traditionally underlain the party systems? Are they still important?

There has always been a cleavage between the Left and the Right in the political system. Indeed, traditionally, their ideologies diverge. For example, in the classic sense, the Left says we should all break with the past. However the Right explains that history is a guide for the future, that traditions are to be respected and that existing structures should be cared for. They believe in continuity, in evolution, unlike the Left which believes that revolution is necessary to be able to progress and therefore wants discontinuity. Furthermore, while the traditional Left strongly believes in equality among citizens, in redistribution of wealth thanks to taxes and regulations, the Right believes in private property and legitimacy of wealth accumulation.

The Right recommends that the State should intervene as little as possible in economic life whereas the traditional Left thinks the State should own companies for the purpose of better protecting the population from the pressure of market forces.

In respect of law and order, the Left will tend to tolerate more freedom for the individual than the Right which will tend to be stricter on enforcement.

The Left and Right’s ideas on family values are also totally different. The former thinks they can easily be challenged by divorce or contraception, while the latter thinks they should be strongly respected. The Right will tend to relate easily to a model whereby the authority within the family rests with the father first. The Left will recognize readily that the classic family structure may not work best in all circumstances.

The Right will tend to promote religion or the role of the Church more aggressively than the Left for which atheism does not represent a specific problem.

These differences between the Right and the Left are less important than before. Indeed, it is now very difficult to identify the Left with the lower class and the Right with the rich. Even if people do not enjoy the same degree of wealth, they have more and more access to similar opportunities in terms of schooling, health, right to vote, housing. Moreover, goods are nowadays more and more affordable to a larger section of the population (at least in the developed world).

The fall of communism has blurred the traditional distinction between Left and Right. People have come to realise that the interests of the working class are not in contradiction with those of the upper class. Ownership of companies is much more spread out than before. State ownership is not a guarantee of fairness and does not protect companies and their workers from competition and mismanagement.

.a) What far right parties are there and how have they affected the party system?



There are three main far right parties in Germany, Die Deutsche Volksunion (German people’s party), Die Republikaner (republicans) and Die Nationaldemocratische Partei Deutschlands (National Democratic Party of Germany). These parties rarely get above 5% in the polls. They have no substantial influence in political life. No mainstream party will want to associate itself with movements whose values are reminiscent of those of the National Socialist party of some 70 years ago.

Supporters are lower class and senior citizens in big cities where immigration is strong. But although representation in Parliament is only very marginal German authorities have reported a 10% increase in right-wing violence in the country.

In France however, the Front National led by Jean Marie Le Pen made it to the second round in the 00 elections when it fetched 18% of the votes but was duly defeated by Chirac. The FN benefited from the many leftist candidates for the elections, which led to the splitting of the socialist votes. On this occasion the FN played a role in French politics which was larger than its relatively modest share of the popular vote.

In regional elections where the UMP does not have a natural majority, it needs the votes of the Front National supporters to win. However the democratic Right cannot publicly enter into an alliance with the FN for fear of antagonizing its natural voters. Therefore many unspoken agreements and compromises are entered into at regional level between the local leaders of the mainstream right wing parties and those of the FN.

b) What have been the reasons for the growth of these parties?

The far right parties have gained influence especially in Europe because of the opening of borders within the European Union and with the rest of the world. Many European countries have eased immigration procedures. Economic security and violence have become strong concerns mainly for senior citizens and those who have a precarious employment. The fear of crime is currently reinforced following recent terrorist attacks. Law and order parties are little by little gaining influence. Their message of low tolerance for crime, especially when committed by immigrants, is a vote catcher with a growing section of the population.

c) What green parties are there and what has been their impact?

Die Grünen of Germany are members of the current coalition with the SDP. It is said to be the most influential green party in Europe. At national elections they obtained 6.7% of the votes in 18. Their aim is to push the liberalisation of the economy as well as their initial objective which is the protection of the environment. They believe this goal can only be achieved if society changes both its values and the way it conducts business.

In France, the Greens (les Verts) led by Dominique Voynet, tend to be left wing with ideas that are not totally dissimilar to those of the socialist party, although the emphasis on the environment is stronger. The Greens in France obtained 10% of the votes at the 18 elections which was a great surprise because in 14 they only managed to score a total of % of the votes. In the Paris area alone, the Greens scored almost 0%. The increases of votes have prompted them to fight for greater influence in future local elections.

At the moment, the nuclear energy issue is at the centre of their policy concerns.

Compared to Germany, the role of the Greens in French politics is small. This is due to the fact that France is a lower density country and therefore environmental problems are less acute. Also it is possible that German romanticism is more conducive to the protection of nature.

d) What have been the reasons for the growth of green parties and is their growth likely to continue?

The population increase is one of the reasons for the growth of green parties in parliaments nowadays. Indeed, the continuous growth of the car industry leads to very visible forms of pollution. Industrial food processing, biotechnology (genetically modified crops and cloning for example) make most people extremely insecure as to the real benefits of scientific progress. Also, nuclear accidents and accidents involving petrol tankers and chemical plants are also a reason for insecurity. To the extent that the green parties question the merits of the ever growing intrusion of science in everyday life and how science should be controlled, they respond to the anxiety of an ever larger constituency.

. a) Can Parliaments change the Government’s legislative proposals? Can they control Government spending and tax raising? What means do they have to scrutinise and influence Government policy?

In France as in Germany it is indeed a prerogative of the legislative power to change government policies. In both countries the budget is submitted to the approval of Parliament. The final budget may therefore be the result of a series of compromises between the executive and legislative powers. Votes of no confidence or the threat thereof can be used in Germany and France to force the government to amend its proposals in the direction preferred by Parliament. It should be noted that, since neither the German or the French President can be challenged by Parliament, the greater power of the French President compared with his German counterpart does provide the French executive power with more stability.

In practice, in both countries, a government enjoying a majority in Parliament is unlikely to be challenged by it. This is especially the case in Germany where the Bundestag specifically approves the nomination of the Chancellor by the President. In France, although the Parliament is not asked to ratify the choice of Prime Minister, the President must appoint as Prime Minister a member of the parliamentary majority. A strong community of views is therefore likely to exist between the respective cabinets and parliaments.

b) What is the power of the Prime Minister in relationship to the Head of State? Other Ministers? The Cabinet? Parliament? Regional Government?

The federal government consists of the Chancellor and his or her cabinet ministers. The Basic Law invests the Chancellor with central executive authority. For that reason, some people refer to the German political system as a “Chancellor democracy”. The Chancellor’s authority emanates from the provisions of the Basic Law and from his or her status as leader of the party or coalition of parties holding a majority of seats in the Bundestag. Every four years, after national elections and the seating of the newly elected Bundestag members, the federal president nominates a chancellor candidate the chancellor is then elected by majority vote in the Bundestag. He is the most powerful individual in German politics. Article 65 of the Basic Law states “ the Chancellor determines the guidelines of policy to which the government complies”

The German President has a limited procedural role, he appoints and dismisses cabinet ministers and can dissolve the Bundestag but it is always on advice from the chancellor.

Article 65 of the Basic Law sets forth three principles that define how the executive branch functions. First, the “chancellor principle” makes the chancellor responsible for all government policies. Any formal policy guidelines issued by the chancellor are legally binding directives that cabinet ministers must implement. Cabinet ministers are expected to introduce specific policies at the ministerial level that reflect the chancellor’s broader guidelines. Second the “principle of ministerial autonomy” entrusts each minister with the freedom to supervise departmental operations and prepare legislative proposals without cabinet interference so long as the minister’s policies are kept within the chancellor’s guidelines. Third, the “cabinet principle” calls for disagreements between federal ministers over jurisdictional or budgetary matters to be settled by the cabinet.

The chancellor determines the composition of the cabinet. According to the Basic Law, the chancellor may set the number of cabinet ministers and dictate their specific duties.

The German chancellor is stable; he is elected by the Bundestag and derives authority from the level of parliamentary support given in this vote. Unlike most parliamentary legislatures, the Bundestag cannot remove the chancellor simply with a vote of no-confidence. The Basic Law allows only for a “constructive vote of no confidence”. That is, the Bundestag can remove a chancellor only when it simultaneously agrees on a successor.

The chancellor can append a simple no-confidence provision to any government legislative proposal. If the Bundestag rejects the proposal, the chancellor may request that the president dissolve the Parliament and call new elections. Although not often used, it can pressurise the Bundestag to vote in favour of legislation.

The German Chancellor is usually the leader of his own party. This increases stability and power. He is therefore able to sustain this power because of this stability.

Germany, being a federal state, entrusts regional governments and parliaments with wide ranging powers to determine policies valid at the “Land” level. There is real delegation of authority on the part of the federal government. Each “Land” thus can adopt laws which are specific to it. By definition, the powers vested in local politicians limit those of the federal government, hence those of the Chancellor.

In France, the President is the main person in the Executive Branch of the government. He also has particular responsibility for Defence and Foreign Policy. He is the one who nominates the Prime Minister; this is the same in Germany. However, the French President may also dismiss the Prime Minister and the rest of the government. In Germany, the Chancellor can only be dismissed by a “constructive vote of no confidence” by the Parliament.

Unlike Germany where the Chancellor often directs the guidelines of the President, in France, the Prime minister must always be answerable to him. He is the one who gives directions and who does the strategic thinking. According to the Constitution of 158, the Prime Minister “shall direct the operation of the government” and the government “shall determine and direct the policy of the Nation”. Essentially, the Prime Minister and the cabinet operate to provide the direction or resources necessary to implement the policies conceived by the President. One of the many functions of the Prime Minister is the harnessing of a parliamentary majority for presidential policies since a majority in parliament may censure or reject a governmental program, forcing the resignation of the government. The Prime Minister can appoint and dismiss cabinet ministers, so can the German Chancellor.

France is a state governed from the centre. Regions play a much lesser role than in Federal Germany. No regional parliaments exist although the “conseils regionaux” whose members are representatives of people elected at local level have a consultative role. The central government is represented in each French “departement” by a “Prefet” appointed by Paris without any interference by the legislative power. The Prime Minister is thus able to play (indirectly through his ministers) a major role in provincial matters.

Bibliography

www.news.nationalgeographic.com/news/000/0/04_europe.html

www.greenparties.hpg.ig.com.br/introduction.html

www.tms.physics.lsa.umich.edu/14/other/news/france-greens-nuc.html

www.archives.premier-ministre.gouv.fr/jospin_version/GB/PM/PRESPM.htm

www.lib.byv,edu/rdh?eurodas/germ/ggery.html



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