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Main article: Politics of Germany
Germany is a constitutional federal republic, whose political system is laid out in the 1949 'constitution' called Grundgesetz (Fundamental Law). It has a parliamentary system in which the head of government, the Bundeskanzler (Chancellor), is elected by the parliament.
The parliament, called Bundestag (Federal Assembly), is elected every four years by popular vote in a complex system combining direct and proportional representation. The 16 Bundesländer are represented at the federal level in the Bundesrat (Federal Council), which—depending on the subject matter—may have a say in the legislative procedure. Lately, there has been much concern about the Bundestag and the Bundesrat blocking each other, making effective government very difficult.
The function of head of state is performed by the Bundespräsident (Federal President), whose powers are mostly limited to ceremonial and representative duties.
The judiciary branch includes a Constitutional Court called Bundesverfassungsgericht, which may ultimately overturn all acts by the legislature or administration if they are deemed unconstitutional; as well as a Federal Court of Justice ( Bundesgerichtshof), responsible for appeals from lower state court. All lower courts are created by the Bundesländer.
Germany's social welfare system has deep roots to the early industrialization, to the strong bonds between individual and state/society that followed Reformation and later signified the Prussian revival after the 30 Years War and remain one of the aspects of the German society most Germans are the most proud of. About 90% of the population is covered by a mandatory health insurance. Like in the other Northern/Western European countries with similar systems, a reform process of the Social security system has been deemed necessary and is currently ( as of 2004) a major theme in the domestic politics.
Main article: States of Germany
Germany is divided into sixteen Bundesländer (singular Bundesland), or federal states. It is further subdivided into 439 Kreise (districts) and cities (kreisfreie Städte) ( 2004).
| State | Capital | In German | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Baden-Württemberg | Stuttgart | Baden-Württemberg | Stuttgart |
| 2 Bavaria | Munich | Freistaat Bayern | München |
| 3 Berlin | Berlin | Berlin | Berlin |
| 4 Brandenburg | Potsdam | Brandenburg | Potsdam |
| 5 Bremen (state) | Bremen | Freie Hansestadt Bremen | Bremen |
| 6 Hamburg | Hamburg | Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg | Hamburg |
| 7 Hesse | Wiesbaden | Hessen | Wiesbaden |
| 8 Mecklenburg-Western Pommerania | Schwerin | Mecklenburg-Vorpommern | Schwerin |
| 9 Lower Saxony | Hannover | Niedersachsen | Hannover |
| 10 North Rhine-Westphalia | Düsseldorf | Nordrhein-Westfalen | Düsseldorf |
| 11 Rhineland-Palatinate | Mainz | Rheinland-Pfalz | Mainz |
| 12 Saarland | Saarbrücken | Saarland | Saarbrücken |
| 13 Saxony | Dresden | Freistaat Sachsen | Dresden |
| 14 Saxony-Anhalt | Magdeburg | Sachsen-Anhalt | Magdeburg |
| 15 Schleswig-Holstein | Kiel | Schleswig-Holstein | Kiel |
| 16 Thuringia | Erfurt | Freistaat Thüringen | Erfurt |
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