Fragen 61 bis 90

Under Art. 20(2) GG popular sovereignty means that all state authority derives from the people. A monarchy (a) contradicts democracy, the Federal Constitutional Court (b) does not stand above the constitution but guards its observance, and associations (c) hold no state authority of their own.

The parliaments of the federal states are called Landtage (in Bremen, Hamburg and Berlin Bürgerschaft or Abgeordnetenhaus); their election is the state parliament election. The local election (a) concerns municipalities and districts, the European election (c) the European Parliament and the Bundestag election (d) the federal level.

Courts exercise judicial power and belong to the judiciary (Art. 92 GG). The police (a), the tax office (c) and the ministries (d), by contrast, are part of the executive, that is the implementing power.

Germany is a federal state and is divided into the federal level, the federal states and the municipalities; the 16 states have their own constitutions and competences (Art. 20(1) GG). Occupation zones (a) and the division into East and West (b) are history, and cantons (c) exist in Switzerland.

The Federal Cabinet is formed by the Federal Chancellor, who selects the ministers and proposes them to the Federal President; the Bundestag only elects the Chancellor. Drafting laws (a), scrutinising the government (b) and electing the Chancellor (c) are core tasks of the Bundestag (Art. 63, 76, 77 GG).

By far the largest Jewish communities in Germany are in Berlin and Munich. Hamburg and Essen (b) as well as Nuremberg and Stuttgart (c) have much smaller communities, and Worms and Speyer (d) are important sites of medieval Judaism but are small today.

Under Art. 30 and Art. 70 GG, schools and education are the responsibility of the federal states, which is why there are 16 different school systems. Defence (a) and foreign policy (b) are federal tasks, and economic policy (c) is shaped mainly by the federal level and within the European Union.

Art. 7(1) GG places the entire school system under state supervision so that educational goals and quality are safeguarded. There are also private and church schools (a is wrong), not all pupils obtain a qualification (b), and differing school systems (c) result from state responsibility rather than being the reason for supervision.

The lowest political level consists of the municipalities, that is towns and communes with their own right of self-government (Art. 28(2) GG). City councils (a) are municipal bodies or their members, district administrators (b) head the districts, and district offices (d) are administrative units without a political level of their own.

Under Art. 63(1) GG the Federal President proposes a candidate to the Bundestag for election as Federal Chancellor and then appoints that person. The Chancellor conducts government business (a), the governing party is scrutinised by the opposition (b), and the Chancellor selects the ministers (c).

The seat of government is Berlin, where the Federal Chancellery and the Bundestag are located, so the Chancellor works mainly there. Bonn (a) is only a secondary administrative seat with some ministries, Schloss Meseberg (b) is a guest house for special occasions, and Schloss Bellevue (c) is the official seat of the Federal President.

Friedrich Merz (CDU) has been Federal Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany since 6 May 2025. Gerhard Schröder (a) was Chancellor from 1998 to 2005, Angela Merkel (b) from 2005 to 2021, and Ursula von der Leyen (c) is President of the European Commission.

After the federal election in February 2025, the CDU/CSU group is the largest and the AfD the second-largest group in the Bundestag. The Left (b, d) and Alliance 90/The Greens (c) are considerably smaller, and the SPD is now only the fourth-largest group.

The Bundestag is the parliament of the entire federation, elected by the people (Art. 38 GG). The Federal Assembly (a) only elects the Federal President, the People's Chamber (b) was the parliament of the GDR, and the Federal Court of Justice (d) is a court.

The head of state is the Federal President; Frank-Walter Steinmeier has held the office since 2017 and was re-elected in 2022. Bärbel Bas (b) was President of the Bundestag, Bodo Ramelow (c) was Minister-President of Thuringia, and Joachim Gauck (d) was Federal President from 2012 to 2017.

CDU stands for Christian Democratic Union; the party contests elections in all federal states except Bavaria, where its sister party CSU stands. The variants a, b and c are invented and are not party names.

The Bundeswehr is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany; in peacetime it is led by the Federal Minister of Defence (Art. 65a GG). The police (a) are a matter for the states, or the Federal Police at federal level, and a harbour (b) or a citizens' initiative (c) has nothing to do with the military.

SPD stands for Social Democratic Party of Germany; it is Germany's oldest party and was part of the federal government from 2021 to 2025. The forms in a, b and d are incorrect and not official party names.

FDP stands for Free Democratic Party; it is a liberal party that was part of the federal government from 2021 to 2024. The variants a, b and c are invented and are not party names.

The Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe guards compliance with the Basic Law and decides on its interpretation (Art. 93 GG). The Higher Regional Court (a), the Local Court (b) and the Administrative Court (d) are ordinary or specialist courts; they do not interpret the Basic Law authoritatively.

The Bundestag elects the Federal Chancellor with a majority of its members (Art. 63 GG). The Bundesrat (a) participates in legislation, the Federal Assembly (b) elects the Federal President, and the people (c) only elect the members of parliament.

The Federal Chancellor chairs the Federal Cabinet and determines the guidelines of policy (Art. 65 GG). The President of the Bundestag (a), the Federal President (b) and the President of the Bundesrat (c) head other constitutional bodies.

The Chancellor is elected by the Bundestag with a majority of its members, without debate (Art. 63(2) GG). The people (a) only elect the members of parliament, the Federal Assembly (b) elects the Federal President, and the Federal Government (d) consists of the Chancellor and the ministers.

The Federal President represents Germany at home and abroad, appoints ministers and signs laws, but does not govern. Governing (a) is the task of the Federal Government, laws are drafted (b) by the Bundestag and the government, and compliance with the laws is monitored (d) by the police and the judiciary.

The Bundesrat consists of members of the state governments, who represent their states (Art. 51(1) GG); depending on population, a state has three to six votes. Members of the Bundestag (a), federal ministers (b) and party members (d) are not members of it as such.

The Federal Assembly elects the head of state; it consists of the members of the Bundestag and an equal number of members elected by the state parliaments (Art. 54 GG). The Bundesrat (b), the Federal Parliament (c, not a separate constitutional body) and the Federal Constitutional Court (d) do not elect the President.

The head of state is the Federal President (Art. 59 GG), who represents Germany under international law. The Chancellor (a) leads the government, the President of the Bundesrat (c) only deputises for the Federal President, and the President of the Bundestag (d) chairs parliament.

The opposition scrutinises the government by submitting questions, holding debates and using its rights in committees. Ministries (b) are decided by the Chancellor, seats in the Bundesrat (c) by the state governments, and the heads of government of the states (d) are elected by the state parliaments.

Members of parliament from the same party join together in a parliamentary group, which organises motions, speeches and committee seats. An association (a) is an interest organisation, the Council of Elders (b) is a body of the Bundestag, and opposition (d) refers to all the groups not in government.

Through the Bundesrat the states participate in federal legislation, especially in laws requiring their consent (Art. 50, 77 GG). The Federal Assembly (b) only elects the Federal President, the Bundestag (c) is the federal parliament itself, and the Federal Government (d) is part of the executive.