Defunct
80-456: Defunct The German Burschenschaft (DB) (Deutsche Burschenschaft) is an association of Burschenschaften (comparable in some respects with fraternities ); a co-operation of student associations of a certain form in Germany and Austria . It was created in 1881 as a General Deputies Convent (ADC) and received its current name in 1902. It goes back to the ideas associated with the founding of
160-498: A Burschenschaft . However, he resigned two years after he joined because of the fraternity's antisemitism. While in communist East Germany Burschenschaften were prohibited as representatives of a bourgeois attitude to be extinguished, in West Germany most Burschenschaften were refounded in the 1950s. Some of them had to be transferred into other cities, since Germany had lost great parts of its territories after
240-421: A coalition is formed in most cases between several parties whose members together make up a majority of parliament and who can, therefore, easily elect an agreed upon Minister-President. Occasionally the governing coalition is a minority government . The Minister-President, in most cases, puts the government together with people from the coalition parties. In practice, the election of a Minister-President leads to
320-627: A Council of Elders ( Ältestenrat ), which is essentially a board to help with managerial issues. It is also during this period that committee seats are filled. The Präsidium is headed by the President of the Parliament ( Landtagspräsident ), who is chosen from among the ranks of parliament. In general, the President of the Parliament comes from the largest constituent political party in the government. The following individuals have been Parliament President: The Parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia
400-572: A German nation based on language, thought and culture, the NeueDB favors defining Germany as the political Germany established by the German Basic Law (constitution) in 1949 and altered by the 1990 unification . Many Burschenschaften are not organized at all since they do not see an organization that represents their values sufficiently. Because of the German emigration into Chile in
480-567: A democratically elected body until 1947. Until 2005, the state was a stronghold of the SPD and social democracy , with each President-Minister between 1966 and 2005 coming from that party. Under the leadership of Karl Arnold , the CDU lead the government from 1947 until 1956 (the longest period that the CDU has been in power in the state). They again held the position of President-Minister from 1958 until 1966 under Franz Meyers as coalition leader, and during
560-806: A direct say in national matters, including those that involve the EU. As stated in Article 51 of the State Constitution, the State Parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia elects the Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia "from its center" (" aus seiner Mitte ") in a secret election that requires at least half of parliament's legally-seated members to vote in favor. Therefore, the Minister-President must always first be
640-556: A large role in the legislative process. The authority of the state parliament in numerous legal areas has waned in the last few decades. This is due to the overriding legal authority of the federal government in Berlin . Indeed, while the Federal Reforms of 2006 more clearly defined the legal authorities of both federal and state governments, especially with regards to each other, it has also led to greater legislative activity by
720-424: A member of parliament. If a majority of affirmative votes is not reached in the first vote, a second (and possibly third) vote is held within 14 days, with whoever winning a simple majority becoming Minister-President. If no such majority results, a runoff vote between two nominees takes place. The winner of this vote then becomes Minister-President. Abstentions and invalid votes do not count as votes cast. Thus far,
800-399: A particular party means voting in favor of having that lead candidate be in the running for President-Minister. The lead candidate for smaller coalition parties are regularly included in the government as ministers. Compared to the state government, the state parliament has extensive powers. It can call members of government in for questioning before parliament, and it has the power to approve
880-454: A party often gets more seats to represent specific electoral districts than they are entitled to based on party list votes, which results in overhang seats . In this case, the other parties obtain leveling seats , in order to establish a proportional allocation of seats; the size of parliament, therefore, is not fixed, but rather expands in relation to the number of overhang and leveling seats. In theory, several parties can have overhang seats at
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#1732772157359960-479: A party, it is necessary to distinguish between representatives who were elected directly from an electoral district, versus those who were elected from the lists. In the case of a direct mandate, a new election takes place in which the individual who lost his seat is not eligible to run. Regarding those elected from lists, the representative in question will only be replaced if they were elected as part of an unconstitutional party. The parliament elected in 1947 only had
1040-399: A stable government with a clear majority that can exert considerable influence over the legislative process and thus pursue its own legislative agenda. Though the electorate does not vote directly for the Minister-President, the selected person is generally a dominant figure in the state political system, and since the larger parties declare their lead candidate before the election, voting for
1120-568: A strong force in parliament. Because they could not form a majority with the FDP and after the SPD rejected offers of a grand coalition under a CDU Minister-President, the SPD and the Greens formed a minority government under Minister-President Hannelore Kraft (SPD), who was elected to the position with support from the Left. In the most recent legislative period (which elected the 16th Parliament of
1200-421: A term of three years. The constitution from 1950 then established a four-year term for members of parliament, which was extended to five years in 1969. The term for each parliament member begins at the first session of parliament, and a regular parliamentary election must take place within the last three months of the term. Each new parliament convenes for the first time within 20 days of the election, but not before
1280-853: A third of the Burschenschaften . Others are organized in the Schwarzburgbund Schwarzburgbund (Schwarzburg League), the Neue Deutsche Burschenschaft Neue Deutsche Burschenschaft ( NeueDB , New Germany Fraternity) or the Allgemeine Deutsche Burschenschaft Allgemeine Deutsche Burschenschaft (General German Student Union). While the DB still insists upon Fichte 's idea of
1360-732: A third reading, deliberation, or committee counseling can be requested either by a party or by at least a quarter of the assembly. The President of the Parliament delivers each ratified law to the Minister-President, who signs and disseminates it as part of her duties as head of state for North Rhine-Westphalia. The law enters into force after it is written in the Law and Ordinance Record for the State of North Rhine-Westphalia ( Gesetz- und Verordnungsblatt für das Land Nordrhein-Westfalen ). Referendums in Germany are similar to bill proposals from parliament and
1440-546: A vote by the parties themselves. Nominations for individual candidates, as well as for party lists, must be submitted to the district's election registry no later than 6 pm on the 48th day before the election. This deadline can be shortened by resolution of the parliament. Parties that are not in the state parliament or have not been nominated to the Bundestag from North Rhine-Westphalia in the last electoral period must submit at least 1000 signatures from legal voters in support of
1520-516: Is cast directly for a candidate to represent a specific district. The second vote is for a party and largely determines the relative size of each party's bloc in the new parliament. All Germans who have reached the age of 18, who live in North Rhine-Westphalia at least 16 days before the election, and who are not excluded from voting due to court decision are eligible to vote in the state parliamentary elections. If they have moved to
1600-478: Is elected by a system of personalized proportional representation . Parliament members are selected by a universal , equal, direct, secret, and free vote. Parliament has at least 181 members. Additionally, the inclusion of overhang seats and leveling seats is possible. 128 members are elected by a direct mandate to represent specific constituencies . The remaining seats are allocated to candidates who appear on party lists . Each voter has two votes. The first vote
1680-501: Is for a direct candidate to represent one of the 128 electoral districts. The winner of this vote enters the state parliament regardless of how the second vote (for the party list) turns out. Since 1954 only candidates from the two biggest parties, the CDU and the SPD , have been selected through the direct first vote. Theoretically, this directly elected member of parliament should represent all
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#17327721573591760-589: Is prohibited in Chile). Most Burschenschaften are pflichtschlagend , i.e. their members must sustain a number of Mensuren . Academic fencing is still an important part of their self-understanding as well as political education. Many Burschenschaften , often found in certain "umbrella" organisations (such as the Burschenschaftliche Gemeinschaft ), are associated with right-wing or far-right ideas, in particular with
1840-491: Is the central legislative body of the state. It establishes or changes laws that fall within its legislative authority, which includes the regulation of education, police matters, and municipal law. Bills can be brought before the parliament by a parliamentary group (caucus) or a group of at least seven members of parliament. Additionally, the state government itself can bring relevant bill proposals to parliament for consideration. In practice, most bill proposals originate from
1920-590: Is well above the SPD , which is 33.3% female, the CDU , at 22.4%, and the FDP , at 18.2%. At the bottom of the list is the Pirate Party , whose representatives are only 15% female. The leadership of the 16th Parliament is once again led by a woman, namely the newly elected President of Parliament Carina Gödecke, who replaced Eckhard Uhlenberg. As in previous election periods, the state party leaders are entirely male. For two parties (the Pirate Party and
2000-472: The German Burschenschaft jargon; plural: B!B! ) is one of the traditional Studentenverbindungen (student associations) of Germany , Austria , and Chile (the latter due to German cultural influence ). Burschenschaften were founded in the 19th century as associations of university students inspired by liberal and nationalistic ideas. They were significantly involved in
2080-587: The March Revolution and the unification of Germany . After the formation of the German Empire in 1871, they faced a crisis, as their main political objective had been realized. So-called Reformburschenschaften were established, but these were dissolved by the Nazi regime in 1935/6. In West Germany , the Burschenschaften were re-established in the 1950s, but they faced a renewed crisis in
2160-526: The largest remainder method to the Sainte-Laguë Method . Until 2005, the voting system in North Rhine-Westphalia was quite distinct from both the federal system and those found in the other states of Germany. While federal elections had already instituted the two vote system discussed above, North Rhine-Westphalia voters only had one vote to cast for the candidate of their choice in their electoral district. These votes then were also counted for
2240-457: The "General Deputies Convent" (“Allgemeiner Deputierten-Convent”) was founded by 35 fraternities in Eisenach , renamed "German Burschenschaft" in 1902. The members agreed on commonalities in general student and student affairs, but in a number of other matters the individual fraternities should decide for themselves. A recording of Austrian Burschenschaft was initially rejected for the reason that
2320-458: The 1960s and 1970s, as the mainstream political outlook of the German student movement of that period started leaning more towards the left. Roughly 160 Burschenschaften exist today in Germany, Austria and Chile. The very first one, called Urburschenschaft (" original Burschenschaft "), was founded on 12 June 1815 at Jena as an association drawn from all German university students inspired by liberal and patriotic ideas. Like
2400-543: The 1990s many Burschenschaften that had left Eastern Germany in the 1940s and 1950s returned to their traditional home universities in the East. Roughly 160 Burschenschaften still exist today and many are organized in different organizations ranging from progressive to nationalistic. Among the latter is the Deutsche Burschenschaft organization ( DB , German Burschenschaft), which represents about
2480-524: The Austrian Alps were dissolved by the Nazi government or transformed and fused with other Studentenverbindungen into so-called Kameradschaften (comradeships). Some Nazis (e.g. Ernst Kaltenbrunner ) and Nazi opponents ( Karl Sack , Hermann Kaiser) were members of Burschenschaften . Theodor Herzl , an Austrian Jewish journalist who founded modern political Zionism , was also a member of
German Burschenschaft - Misplaced Pages Continue
2560-617: The Burschenschaften unite the German fatherland. In a number of participating Burschenschaften antisemitism was common; all members had to be Christian . Jewishness was not seen as being religious, i.e Judaism , but was racialised. Resulting from several disputes at the annual Burschentag (fraternity day) in 1920 it was established that membership was not open to Jews or descendants of Jews or people whose fiancées had Jewish ancestors. In addition, many Burschenschafter were against
2640-465: The CDU managed to pick up 67. This marked the first time in 12 years that the SPD won the largest percentage of votes, and it marked a transition of their minority coalition with the Greens to one with a legislative majority. The following table details the results: The first parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia was actually appointed during the British occupation following WWII , and was not replaced by
2720-481: The Greens), the management of the parties' parliamentary groups is in the hands of women. Additionally, the election of Hannelore Kraft marks the first time ever that a woman has headed the state government. Likewise, Sylvia Löhrmann remains a Deputy Minister-President. The following table compares the percentage of women in parliament from each party in the current parliament term and the previous one. Figures from
2800-585: The Landsmannschaften or the Corps , a student association based on particular German region, the Burschenschaft members also engaged in duelling. However, its main purpose was to break down society lines and to destroy rivalry in the student body, to improve student life and increase patriotism. It was intended to draw its members from a broader population base than the Corps . Indeed, the group
2880-466: The Minister-President has always been approved in the first vote, with the exceptions of the reelection of Franz Meyers on 25 July 1966 and the election of Hannelore Kraft on 14 July 2010, both of whom were elected in the second round of voting. The removal of the Minister-President is possible at any time through a motion of no confidence , which requires a majority of dissenting votes. As of 2013, there have been two successful votes of no confidence on
2960-477: The SPD and a fraternity, which is organized in the umbrella organization Deutsche Burschenschaft. SPD reacted to the ongoing radicalization of DB and the "increasingly nationalist and Greater German program". That is incompatible with the values of social democracy. Traditionally there were two wings in the German Burschenschaft: conservative on one side and völkisch or extreme-right members on
3040-486: The Second World War, and many Burschenschaften from East Germany also tried to find a new home. The allied victors had forbidden refounding Burschenschaften originally, but this could not be upheld in a liberal surrounding. In the 1970s and 1980s, the Burschenschaften , as many other student fraternities, underwent a crisis: a lack of new members and strong attacks by the leftist student community. In
3120-509: The State Parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia (the first on 20 February 1956 and the second on 8 December 1966). Parliament has no direct influence on the appointment or dismissal of other state ministers, who (together with the Minister-President) make up the government. A vote of no confidence dissolves the government and therefore automatically dismisses all state ministers. Provided that no single party wins an absolute majority,
3200-401: The State of North Rhine-Westphalia), the proportion of female deputies in parliament was nearly 30%. After falling during recent election periods, this percentage increased slightly over the 15th Parliament, which was 27.07% female, but was lower than both the 14th Parliament (31.02%), as well as the 13th (32.47%). The Greens have the highest percentage of women in parliament, at 51.7%, which
3280-527: The above listed rules. These seats are distributed to candidates among the winning parties in the order that they were listed in the party list. With about 70% of their parliament members elected by direct mandate, North Rhine-Westphalia has the highest proportion of directly elected members of any state in Germany (with most of the others, as well as in the Federal Parliament, having only around 50% of their members elected directly). This means that
German Burschenschaft - Misplaced Pages Continue
3360-623: The association at that time "basically rejected the active participation in political issues" according to the statement on the website of Deutsche Burschenschaft. When in 1919 the Treaty of St. Germain was made and the unification of Germany and Austria into a Großdeutsches Reich was ruled out, the Deutsche Burschenschaft merged with the Austrian " Burschenschaft der Ostmark [ de ] ". In its understanding, at least
3440-570: The ballot is designated for the first vote, which is for a direct candidate, and the right column is for the second vote, which is for a party list. The order of the parties depends first on the number of votes achieved by each party in the last state election. These are followed by parties running for the first time, listed in the order that they registered with the state electoral commission. Through resignation, loss of eligibility, or death, outgoing members of parliament will be replaced, regardless of whether they were elected by direct mandate or through
3520-427: The bill's passage. The specific parliamentary committees will then pass the reformulated bill with recommended decisions back to the parliament at large for a second reading. At this stage, members of parliament again make suggestions regarding the bill. Each member has the ability to make suggestions to change the bill, and afterwards, the assembly will vote on each proposed amendment individually before finally voting on
3600-519: The central legislative body in the political system of North Rhine-Westphalia . In addition to passing of laws, its most important tasks are the election of the Minister-President of the state and the administration of the government. The current government is a coalition of the CDU and the Greens , supporting the cabinet of Minister-President Hendrik Wüst since June 2022. The last state election took place on 15 May 2022. The State Parliament
3680-629: The court through election manipulation . This is meant to strengthen the independence of the judges on the court. While the state government appoints representatives to the Bundesrat at its own discretion, parliament elects the state's representatives to the Federal Convention . The number of representatives of each party present in the Federal Convention is dependent on how many representatives belonging to that party are in
3760-491: The court's highest members. Parliament elects four members of the Constitutional Court for the State of North Rhine-Westphalia ( Verfassungsgerichtshof für das Land Nordrhein-Westfalen ) to terms of six years each. Altogether this court has seven members. The long term of office, which is staggered so that each judge will not face reelection at the same time, ensures that parliament cannot place undue pressure on
3840-437: The dissolution of parliament. After the election in 2005, parliament shrank from 201 regular members to 181, after the electoral districts were reduced from 151 to 128, and the list-elected members were increased from 50 to 53. (Of course, due to overhang and leveling seats, parliament still has over 200 members.) The method to divide the seats based on votes for the parties (the second vote) also changed in 2005, switching from
3920-456: The end of term for the outgoing parliament. Parliament can be dissolved by a majority vote of its members, and this occurred for the first time on 14 March 2012. The state government has never dissolved parliament since before this could happen, the electorate would have to approve a bill through referendum that the state government had proposed and that the parliament had already rejected. In all cases, new elections must take place within 60 days of
4000-404: The entire bill. Bills are enacted by majority vote, as the constitution does not require any more stringent criteria for passage. The parliament operates by a quorum decision-making process, meaning that only half of its legal members must be present. Constitutional amendments and the budget must go through the advisory process three times, instead of the standard two. For any proposed legislature,
4080-419: The exception of the district of Höxter and the district of Olpe ). The division of the state into electoral districts is only relevant to the direct election of candidates with the first vote (as opposed to the second vote, which is specifically for party lists). Nominations for the election in each electoral district can come from parties, vote groups, and individual voters. Party lists can only be put up for
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#17327721573594160-563: The exclusion of Jews, who were considered to be un-German. Nevertheless, all Burschenschaften were banned as revolutionary by Klemens Wenzel von Metternich of Austria when he issued the reactionary Carlsbad Decrees in 1819. Many Burschenschafter took part in the Hambacher Fest in 1832 and the democratic Revolution in 1848/49. After this revolution had been suppressed, plenty of leading Burschenschafter , such as Friedrich Hecker and Carl Schurz , went abroad. After
4240-538: The federal government in many areas, which has in turn narrowed the field of authority possessed by the states. The European Union likewise has a strong influence on the passage of laws at the national level. Other than the direct participation of the state President-Ministers in the Bundesrat of Germany , the states have no direct contact with the European Union. However, through the Bundesrat, each state has
4320-519: The first German Republic, the so-called Weimarer Republik and they scattered to accept the defeat in the First World War . In 1996 some liberal-conservative Burschenschaften stepped out of Deutsche Burschenschaft and founded the “New German Burschenschaft”. In 2011 there were a debate at Burschentag in Eisenach about a so-called “ Ariernachweis ” for members. Two years later this proposal
4400-551: The foundation of the German Empire in 1871, the Burschenschaften movement faced a severe crisis, as one major goal had been achieved to some extent: German unification . In the 1880s, a renaissance movement, the Reformburschenschaften , led by the ideas of Küster, arose and many new B!B! were founded. It was also during this time until the 1890s when many members turned increasingly towards anti-Semitic outlook believing it provided an approach to achieving
4480-487: The founding of a new organization, the Allgemeine Deutsche Burschenschaft . Landtag von Nordrhein-Westfalen Opposition (80) The Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia is the state parliament ( Landtag ) of the German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia , which convenes in the state capital of Düsseldorf , in the eastern part of the district of Hafen . The parliament is
4560-468: The fraternity's fundamental goal. Such members viewed the Jews as a problem that hampered the unification of Germany and the achievement of new values the organization advanced. There were members who resigned to protest a resolution adopted at an Eisenach meeting declaring that Burschenschaft "have no Jewish members and do not plan to have any in the future." In 1935/36, most Burschenschaften north of
4640-529: The government. These generally are detailed proposals submitted in writing. They are first read and heavily discussed in a plenary assembly open to all members of parliament, before being given over to a specific committee (or sometimes more than one) that is organized around a relevant subject matter and will therefore provide specific counseling on the matter. If necessary, the bill proposal will also be delivered to external experts that are in contact with lobby groups , and to those who will be directly affected by
4720-679: The late 19th century, there are also some Burschenschaften in Chile, organized in the Bund Chilenischer Burschenschaften in contact with the German and Austrian organizations. These are B! Araucania (Santiago), B! Andinia (Santiago), B! Montania (Concepción), B! Ripuaria (Viña Del Mar) and B! Vulkania (Valdivia). Contrary to popular belief, there is no precise political view point held by these Burschenschaften, in fact, they don't really mix with politics, mostly focusing on maintaining B! culture (still, fencing
4800-582: The list of the candidate's political party and were used to divide the seats not apportioned to particular electoral districts. This disadvantaged certain parties, such as the Left Party (with candidates only in 116 districts) and the Ecological Democratic Party (only in 78 districts), since they could not field candidates in every district, and thus did not have the same number of potential voters for their lists. The introduction of
4880-412: The lists, by the next person on the party list who has not yet taken office (for instance, if ten of eleven people on a party list are sent to parliament, but one of those ten resigns, then the eleventh person who did not get elected will take his place). For members who were elected directly and do not belong to a party list, a special election is held. For the loss of a seat as a result of the banning of
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#17327721573594960-603: The native fraternetie ( Urburschenschaft ) in Jena in the year 1815. The ideal goals are outlined in the motto "Honour - Freedom - Fatherland". Today, the German Burschenschaft is considered to be a right-wing corps. This status was preceded by internal directional struggles from the 2000s onwards, in which the German nationalistic fraternities prevailed. According to their own numbers, Deutsche Burschenschaft has 7000 members in almost 70 fraternities. In 1881,
5040-905: The other side. The newspaper Die Tageszeitung wrote in 2018, that for a long time, DB had seen itself as "nonpartisan - from the CDU / CSU on the Republicans to the NPD ". But when Alternative for Germany (AfD) gained strength in Germany the right-wing gained more influence in the DB. Especially the AfD-Youth Organization " Young Alternative " became attractive for fraternity members. According to an AfD-member of Parliament of Nordrhein-Westfalia , about 20 percent of Young Alternative members are also organized in fraternities by 2018. Burschenschaft A Burschenschaft ( German: [ˈbʊʁʃn̩ʃaft] ; sometimes abbreviated B! in
5120-417: The parliament takes place in committees, rather than in plenary sessions (which include all parliament members). In general, members of the state parliament are career politicians and sit together according to what party they belong to. At the beginning of each legislative period, parliament members elect a Präsidium , which is headed by the President of the Parliament (distinct from the Minister-President), and
5200-547: The party. For district nominations, both parties as well as non-party potential candidates must submit at least 100 signatures from registered votes in support of their candidacy in the electoral district. Each voter is only allowed to support a single nomination, and a nomination is only permitted to name a single candidate, whose name must be the same as it is listed on the party list. Nominations from parties and electoral groups must be decided by secret ballot of their members or by delegates selected likewise by secret ballot; however
5280-463: The period of SPD rule from 1966 until 2005, they were the largest party in parliament during two election periods. They could not, however, organize a coalition either time. The 2005 state parliament elections led for the first time in decades their return to power over the SPD, who nevertheless maintained their domination in the Ruhr . The CDU suffered heavy losses in the elections of 2010 , but remained
5360-403: The residents of the electoral district, but in practice, their party membership plays a paramount role in their work in parliament. When a party receives more candidates by direct vote (the first vote) than they would be entitled to through the party list vote (the second vote), the extra candidates are said to occupy overhang seats (detailed below). For the distribution of seats for each party,
5440-424: The right to vote. The state is divided into 128 electoral districts of approximately equal population. If an electoral district differs more than 20% from the average size, new borders are drawn up. Each electoral district is calculated to contain roughly 140,000 residents. In practice, each political district of the state (somewhat similar to county) is broken up into several overlapping electoral districts (with
5520-429: The same time, though this has not yet occurred. Of course, this scheme for adding seats can lead to an expansion of parliament to a size larger than is necessary to produce proportional representation. From 1985 until 2012 (with the exception of the 2010 elections), every parliamentary election had overhang seats so that parliament routinely had more representatives than the minimum number necessary. The left column of
5600-450: The second vote in May 2010 changed all that. In the 2012 state election, which brought to power the 16th Parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia, parliament was again made up of five parties. However, the Left Party fell below the 5% threshold and was forced to give up its seats in parliament, while the Pirate Party , with 7.8% of the popular vote, captured 20 seats. The SPD won 99 seats, while
5680-509: The second vote is of particular significance. In an effort to balance representation, the second vote is not counted when: Since the founding of the country, direct mandates have only gone to candidates of parties that received more than 5% of the votes. In addition to the 181 seats filled by the first vote, the remaining seats are divided based on the results of the second vote, using the Sainte-Laguë method and excluding those ruled out by
5760-476: The state between closing of the electoral rolls 35 days before the election and the eligibility cut-off 16 days before the election, they need to assert their right to vote by appealing to the voter registry in their new community. Those who wish to stand for office must be a registered resident of North Rhine-Westphalia for at least three months prior to the election. The state has 17,554,329 residents (as of 31 December 2012), of which about 13.2 million citizens have
5840-402: The state budget proposed by the government. Parliament also votes on closed states contracts. And, as mentioned above, parliament has the power to dissolve the government through a motion of no confidence. The Court of Audit controls the use of state funds by all state governmental bodies. This court likewise controls the finances of the parliament, but it also reports to parliament, which elects
5920-480: The state government in that they can be submitted by the people to parliament to undergo the same legislative process. If parliament rejects the referendum, then a plebiscite is undertaken in which the people at large can vote. A successful plebiscite leads to the referendum being passed as law. A plebiscite can also be enacted at the request of the government, if parliament fails to pass one of their proposed bills. In practice, this form of direct democracy does not play
6000-426: The state leaderships of the parties have a unique right to appeal the decision of these nominations. If such an appeal is filed, the process must be repeated to either confirm the candidate or to select a new one. Through this rule, the leadership of the CDU successfully opposed a candidate in one of the electoral districts of Cologne during the parliamentary elections of 2005 . The first vote that each voter casts
6080-419: The state parliament. Based on population statistics, North Rhine-Westphalia is responsible for about a fifth of the members of the Federal Convention. Roughly half of these individuals are, by virtue of their membership in the federal parliament ( Bundestag (Germany) , already members of the Federal Convention. The state parliament fills all those seats designated to the state that remain. The majority of work by
6160-566: The uniform of the Lützow Free Corps , being a corps of volunteer soldiers during the wars of liberation. The Burschenschaften were student associations that engaged in numerous social activities. However, their most important goal was to foster loyalty to the concept of a united German national state as well as strong engagement for freedom, rights, and democracy. Quite often Burschenschaften decided to stress extreme nationalist or sometimes also liberal ideas, leading in time to
6240-439: The wish for a German state encompassing Austria . In 2013 one Bonn fraternity proposed that only students of German origin should be eligible to join a Burschenschaft . Reportedly half of member clubs threatened to leave in a row over proposed ID cards and a decision to label an opponent of Adolf Hitler a "traitor". Many of the Burschenschaften that left the Deutsche Burschenschaft following this were later involved in
6320-552: Was known for its middle-class membership while the Corps' was mainly aristocratic. At first, a significant component of its membership were students who had taken part in the German wars of liberation against the Napoleonic occupation of Germany . Its motto was “honor, freedom, fatherland” ( German : Ehre, Freiheit, Vaterland ), and the original colors were red-black-red with a golden oak leaves cluster, which might be based on
6400-399: Was secluded. Nevertheless, some associations left Deutsche Burschenschaft and the numbers of members were cut in half. Some of the Burschenschaften stepped into “New German Burschenschaft” and some others founded in 2016 the “General German Burschenschaft”. In 2014 the executive committee of German Social Democratic Party SPD made a "incompatibility decision". It forbids belonging to both
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