BERLIN. There was a strong reaction to the proposal to change the electoral law, submitted by Three-party government of Germany and was voted yesterday Bundestagin which, after a controversial reform, the number of deputies will be reduced by 106. The new system mainly affects the Left Party (Die Linke) and the Bavarian Christian Socialists (CSU), and the former finance minister spoke of violating the Constitution and the President of the German Parliament, Wolfgang Schäuble. There have already been appeals to the Constitutional Court, which is expected to decide whether the electoral law does not contradict the “Basic Law”, as the country’s constitution is called. The official opposition tried unsuccessfully at the last minute to delay the vote, but the agreements were passed by 400 votes to 261, with 23 abstentions. The Conservative Party and Die Linke see the changes as aimed at undermining their influence, although the Social Democrats insist that a simplified and understandable electoral system is the ultimate goal. CSU leader Alexander Dodbryd openly accused the government of wanting to keep the Left Party out of parliament and to challenge the Christian Socialists’ right to exist. “You are creating reform for yourself to secure the government’s stay in power.”

Limit Criteria 5%

Former Minister of Finance and Chairman of the German Parliament Wolfgang Schäuble declared a violation of the Constitution.

The real problem is that, as a result of normalization, the Bundestag now has 736 deputies, and with the changes it will be permanently limited to 630 seats. At the same time, a rigid electoral barrier of 5% was set. So far, a party has been represented in Parliament if it has won three consecutive seats in the first ballot, which has traditionally favored Die Linke or parties that have struggled with the cap but have a strong presence in certain constituencies. “I didn’t know that the CSU was afraid of the 5 percent limit,” commented Britta Hasselman, the Greens’ parliamentary representative, bitterly. However, in order to go beyond this scope, the Bavarian party could come out with a coalition with the Christian Democrats or a common list. The left party accused the government of “slander”, although the initiative to reduce the number of deputies was one of the top priorities of the three parties involved. In fact, it was initially assumed that the number of deputies would drop to 598. The election law is awaiting approval by the country’s lower house, but it cannot block its adoption.

“Deception”

According to Schäuble’s interview with Spiegel magazine, voters are “deceived and disappointed” by the new electoral law. This is because from now on there is no certainty that the first person in each region will be elected as a deputy. For a citizen, it is implied that he can directly elect the candidate of his choice in his constituency, while it is possible that he may not even make it to parliament, even if he finishes first. “The problem is constitutional,” he stressed. “These changes are like a targeted attack on the CSU, the party that has shaped our parliamentary democracy for 70 years.”