Germany's Government

Germany is classified as a parliamentary-federal democratic government, wherein the Federal Chancellor (Bundeskansier) is the head of government and the Federal President (Bundespräsident) is the head of state. The head of government possess all the executive power of the state. He/She is involved with the daily administrative affairs of the republic. The Federal Chancellor also heads the Federal Cabinet (Bundesregierung). He/She is elected by parliament and thus is accountable to them. The Chancellor can only be removed in office through the Vote of No Confidence. The current Federal Chancellor is Angela Merkel.

On the hand, the head of state performs representative and ceremonial duties. The President is chosen every five years by the Federal Assembly (Bundesverasammlung) which features the whole Parliament and state representatives selected across the country. Horst K?hler is the current Federal President.

The Legislature is the heart of the government of Germany. The country features a bicameral legislative system, which comprises of the Bundestag (Lower House) and Bundesrat (Upper House). The Bundestag is responsible in the making and changing of laws. The 598 members of this chamber are chosen through the first-pass-the-post (winner takes all) principle, and proportional representation (the total party members elected is proportional to the rate of votes the party receives).

Bundesrat (Upper House) represents the state government at the federal level. Bundesrat has the power to enact legislations affecting the individual states. Busdesrat members are chosen by their own respective voting jurisdiction.

Of all the branches of government in Germany, the Judiciary is the one who is able to exercise separation of powers. The Judiciary is marked by independence and grave importance to law.
There are also various court systems in Germany which include the civil, criminal, administrative, tax, labour, and social security court system. The Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht) is considered the most powerful court in Germany. It s able to challenge the laws passed by the legislative branch, other court decisions and even, acts of the executive.

As of the September 2005 election, the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) gathered the largest number of seats. The SPD has 36.2 percent (222) of the total seats in Bundestag election, while the CDU obtained 29.3 percent (180) of the seats.