120-600: National Democrats (Germany) National Democrats (Northern Ireland) (1965–1970) National Democrats (Norway, 1991) National Democrats (Norway) (2006–2007) National Democrats (Poland) (1886–1947) National Democrats (Sweden) (2001–2014) National Democrats (United Kingdom) (1995–2011) See also [ edit ] National Democratic Movement (disambiguation) National Democratic Party (disambiguation) Democratic National Party (disambiguation) National Democracy (disambiguation) Topics referred to by
240-457: A mixed-member proportional representation system which combines first-past-the-post elected seats with a proportional party list to ensure its composition mirrors the national popular vote . Germany's parliament can only be dissolved by the President of Germany , and only after the chancellor failed to maintain the confidence of the parliament in a vote called for either by him or a majority of
360-663: A neo-Nazi organization, it has been referred to as "the most significant neo-Nazi party to emerge after 1945". The German Federal Agency for Civic Education , or BPB, has criticized the NPD for working with members of organizations which were later found unconstitutional by the federal courts and disbanded, while the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), Germany's domestic security agency, classifies The Homeland as
480-461: A "threat to the constitutional order" because of its platform and ideology , and it is under their observation. An effort to outlaw the party failed in 2003, as the government had many informers and agents in the party, some in high position, who had written part of the material used against them. Since its founding in 1964, the party has never managed to win enough votes on the federal level to cross Germany's 5% minimum threshold for representation in
600-735: A conference center. The Reichstag building was also occasionally used as a venue for sittings of the Bundestag and its committees and the Federal Convention , the body which elects the German federal president. However, the Soviets harshly protested against the use of the Reichstag building by institutions of the Federal Republic of Germany and tried to disturb the sittings by flying supersonic jets close to
720-474: A constituency vote (first vote) and a party list vote (second vote). Based solely on the first votes, 299 members are elected in single-member constituencies by first-past-the-post voting. The second votes are used to produce a proportional number of seats for parties, first in the states, and then on the federal level. Seats are allocated using the Sainte-Laguë method . If a party wins fewer constituency seats in
840-606: A demonstration on the anniversary of the bombing of Dresden in World War II. Roughly 6,000 people came to participate in the event. The NPD's strategy has been to create "nationally liberated zones" and circumvent its marginal electoral status by concentrating on regions where support is strongest. In March 2006, musician Konstantin Wecker tried to set up an in-school anti-fascist concert in Halberstadt , Saxony-Anhalt two weeks before
960-554: A farmer who ran for office for the NPD, mentions his frustration that the German Greens groups has dominated the organic farming market for too long. He has also been linked to other German groups specifically Umwelt and Aktiv. Both political parties are concerned with the ways they are in opposition to one another. The Homeland supporters of the green movement are in favor of local produce. However, they are against GMOS , pesticides , and intensive livestock . Organizations involved in
1080-615: A former waterworks facility. In addition, owing to the city's legal status, citizens of West Berlin were unable to vote in elections to the Bundestag, and were instead represented by 22 non-voting delegates chosen by the House of Representatives , the city's legislature. The Bundeshaus in Bonn is the former parliament building of Germany. The sessions of the German Bundestag were held there from 1949 until its move to Berlin in 1999. Today it houses
1200-505: A group if those parties did not run against each other in any German state during the election. Normally, all parties that surpassed the 5%-threshold build a fraction. The CDU and CSU have always formed a single united Fraktion (called CDU/CSU oder 'Union'), which is possible, as the CSU only runs in the state of Bavaria and the CDU only runs in the other 15 states. The size of a fraction determines
1320-642: A lawsuit against the NPD and their spokesman, if requested by Özil. During the Gaza War in 2009, the NPD planned a "Holocaust" vigil for Gaza in support of the Palestinians . Charlotte Knobloch, the head of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, said "joint hatred of everything Jewish is unifying neo-Nazis and Islamists ." Knobloch claimed German-Palestinian protestors "unashamedly admitted" that they would vote for
SECTION 10
#17328441431121440-526: A leading role in both bodies. This development is seen as the first official coalition between the AfD and the far-right party Die Heimat . The formation of the parliamentary groups was supported by statements made by AfD chairman Tino Chrupalla , who emphasised that there would be no "firewalls" to other parties at local level. In 2011, authorities were reportedly trying to link the party, and specifically 30-year-old national organization director Patrick Wieschke, to
1560-508: A merger with the German People's Union (DVU). After the merger on 1 January 2011, the combined party briefly used the name NPD – Die Volksunion (NPD - The People's Union). Between 2004 and 2009 the two parties had agreed not to compete against each other in elections. However, on 27 January 2011, Munich's Landgericht (regional court) in a preliminary injunction declared the merger null and void . The Homeland has recently supported
1680-457: A national-level challenge to the party's legal standing. The likelihood of success of renewed banning attempts has been questioned, given the Office for the Protection of the Constitution has over 130 informants in the party, some in high positions, raising the question of whether the party is effectively controlled by the government. In June 2012, several NPD members of Saxony's parliament attended
1800-568: A non-competition agreement with the German People's Union (DVU) between 2004 and 2009. The third nationalist-oriented party, the Republicans (REP), has so far refused to join this agreement. However, Kerstin Lorenz, a local representative of the Republicans in Saxony, sabotaged her party's registration to help the NPD in the Saxony election. In the 2005 federal elections , the NPD received 1.6 percent of
1920-587: A party to send delegates to the German Parliament . The NPD came closest to that goal in the 1969 election, when it received 4.3 percent of the vote. Helping pave the way for these NPD gains were an economic downturn, frustrations with the emerging leftist youth counter-culture, and the emergence of a tripartite Grand Coalition among the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the Christian Social Union (the CDU's present-day sister party), and
2040-564: A party vote. On 23 January 2024, the Federal Constitutional Court excluded the party from party funding for six years, arguing that it continued to oppose the fundamental principles that are indispensable for the free democratic constitutional state and aimed to eliminate them. In the 1950s, despite the lack of complete de-Nazification , early right-wing extremist parties in West Germany failed to attract voters away from
2160-408: A pilot of the potential of internet petitions , a version of e-petitioner was produced for the Bundestag. This was a collaborative project involving The Scottish Parliament , International Teledemocracy Centre and the Bundestag 'Online Services Department'. The system was formally launched on 1 September 2005, and in 2008 the Bundestag moved to a new system based on its evaluation. The Bundestag
2280-466: A reorganization of a Soviet -style government of Europe along financial lines. Although highly critical of the EU, as long as Germany remains a part of it, The Homeland opposes Turkey's incorporation into the organization. Voigt envisions future collaboration and continued friendly relations with other nationalists and European nationalist parties . The Homeland is strongly anti-Zionist , frequently criticizing
2400-616: A representative of the Centre for Democratic culture in Mecklenburg who chose to stay anonymous in order to protect themself. The representative stated the goal of the NDP is to build bridges between citizens. The NDP is strategic in the way they are going about this in a subtle quite manner. The result the NDP is trying to achieve is to reinforce the division between the two political parties for when NDP no longer becomes associated with politics. In 2005,
2520-527: A state than its second votes would entitle it to, it receives additional seats from the relevant state list . Parties can file lists in every single state under certain conditions – for example, a fixed number of supporting signatures. Parties can receive second votes only in those states in which they have filed a state list. If a party, by winning single-member constituencies in one state, receives more seats than it would be entitled to according to its second vote share in that state (so-called overhang seats ),
SECTION 20
#17328441431122640-434: Is being considered. The Bundestag members are the only federal officials directly elected by the public; the Bundestag in turn elects the chancellor and, in addition, exercises oversight of the executive branch on issues of both substantive policy and routine administration. This check on executive power can be employed through binding legislation, public debates on government policy, investigations, and direct questioning of
2760-507: Is called The Activist . In this central organ, under the heading "The Federal Leader Has the Word", they describe themselves as "representatives of the national revolutionary wing within the NPD". The youth organization criticizes those in The Homeland who have made the "fight for parliaments" the "most important goal". Instead, "resistance and criticism are appropriate, since these developments run
2880-473: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages National Democrats (Germany) The Homeland ( German : Die Heimat ), previously known as the National Democratic Party of Germany (German: Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands , NPD ), is a far-right neo-Nazi and ultranationalist political party in Germany . The party
3000-416: Is elected for four years, and new elections must be held between 46 and 48 months after the beginning of its electoral term , unless the Bundestag is dissolved prematurely. Its term ends when the next Bundestag convenes, which must occur within 30 days of the election. Prior to 1976, there could be a period where one Bundestag had been dissolved and the next Bundestag could not be convened; during this period,
3120-518: Is headed by the Director, that reports to the President of the Bundestag. The Bundestag Administrations four departments are Parliament Service, Research, Information / Documentation and Central Affairs. The Bundestag Administration employs around 3,000 employees. Following the tradition of German diets , the Bundestag is subject to the principle of discontinuation , meaning that a newly elected Bundestag
3240-473: Is legally regarded to be a body and entity completely different from the previous Bundestag. This leads to the result that any motion, application or action submitted to the previous Bundestag, e.g. a bill referred to the Bundestag by the Federal Government, is regarded as void by non-decision (German terminology: " Die Sache fällt der Diskontinuität anheim "). Thus any bill that has not been decided upon by
3360-434: Is responsible for the routine administration of the Bundestag, including its clerical and research activities. It consists of the chamber's president (usually elected from the largest Fraktion ) and vice presidents (one from each Fraktion ). Most of the legislative work in the Bundestag is the product of standing committees, which exist largely unchanged throughout one legislative period. The number of committees approximates
3480-452: Is supporting the far-right extremist. The department of rural enlightenment has supported the importance of distinguishing between these two political parties. The department created a brochure called "Nature Conservation Versus Right-wing Extremist". The brochure was created in order to help consumers distinguish from the far-right extremists. Other representatives from the government have spoken on this divide. For example, Connolly mentions
3600-602: Is the German federal parliament alongside the legally distinct body of the Bundesrat , which together function similar to a bicameral legislature while technically being two separate unicameral legislative entities. It is the only federal representative body directly elected by the German people. The Bundestag was established by Title III of the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany ( German : Grundgesetz , pronounced [ˈɡʁʊntɡəˌzɛt͡s] ) in 1949 as one of
3720-565: Is the official youth organization of the party, founded in 1967. According to The Homeland's statutes, the JN are an "integral part" of the party. The JN are committed to the basic program of the party, but represent these points of view much more aggressively, which is evident both during demonstrations and in political style. They are observed by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution and classified as right-wing extremists. Their regular publication
National Democrats - Misplaced Pages Continue
3840-425: Is therefore the second-highest ranking administrator of Germany. The chancellor , albeit head of government , is only the third-highest ranking administrator and has to petition both the presidents he is subordinated to for certain procedures. The 20th German Bundestag is the most visited parliament in the world, as well as the largest elected legislative body in the world . The first body to be called Bundestag
3960-469: The 1949 election . If a voter cast a first vote for a successful independent candidate or a successful candidate whose party failed to qualify for proportional representation, their second vote does not count toward proportional representation. However, it does count toward whether the elected party exceeds the 5% threshold. Parties representing recognized national minorities (currently Danes , Frisians , Sorbs , and Romani people ) are exempt from both
4080-490: The 1960s generation in Germany, known for the leftist student movement , strongly opposes the NPD's policies. The NPD's economic program promotes social security for Germans and control against plutocracy . They discredit and reject the "liberal-capitalist system". The Homeland argues that NATO fails to represent the interests and needs of European people. The party considers the European Union to be little more than
4200-492: The 2004 state election in Saxony, the NPD won 9.2% of the overall vote. After the 2009 state election in Saxony , the NPD sent eight representatives to the Saxony state parliament, having lost four representatives since the 2004 election. The NPD lost their representation in Saxony in the 2014 state election . They also lost all representation in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in the 2016 state election . The NPD maintained
4320-502: The AfD and Die Heimat had been formed in the Brandenburg town of Lauchhammer and the district of Oberspreewald-Lausitz . In Lauchhammer, the joint parliamentary group will be represented in the town council under the name "AfDplus", while the "Heimat & Zukunft" parliamentary group has been formed in the district council of Oberspreewald-Lausitz. Thomas Gürtler from Die Heimat will play
4440-580: The Allies of World War II "mass murderers", stating that "Today we in this parliament are taking up the political battle for historical truth, and against the servitude of guilt of the German people... The causes of the holocaust bombing of Dresden have nothing to do with either September 1, 1939 or with January 30, 1933 ." Apfel's speech caused politicians from other parties in the Landtag to walk out in protest. Udo Voigt voiced his support for Apfel's and reiterated
4560-483: The Bundesrat jointly attempted to have the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany ban the NPD. The court, the highest court in Germany, has the exclusive power to ban parties if they are found to be "anti-constitutional" through the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany . However, the petition was rejected in 2003 after it was discovered that a number of the NPD's inner circle, including as many as 30 of its top 200 leaders, were undercover agents or informants of
4680-496: The Bundestag ; it has succeeded in crossing the 5% threshold and gaining representation in state parliaments 11 times, including one-convocation entry to seven West German state parliaments between November 1966 and April 1968 and two-convocation electoral success in two East German states of Saxony and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern between 2004 and 2011. Since 2016, The Homeland has not been represented in state parliaments. Udo Voigt led
4800-464: The Fraktion , enforce party discipline and orchestrate the party's parliamentary activities. The members of each Fraktion are distributed among working groups focused on specific policy-related topics such as social policy, economics, and foreign policy. The Fraktion meets every Tuesday afternoon in the weeks in which the Bundestag is in session to consider legislation before the Bundestag and formulate
4920-640: The Presidium . The council consists of the Bundestag leadership, together with the most senior representatives of each Fraktion , with the number of these representatives tied to the strength of the Parliamentary groups in the chamber. The council is the coordination hub, determining the daily legislative agenda and assigning committee chairpersons based on Parliamentary group representation. The council also serves as an important forum for interparty negotiations on specific legislation and procedural issues. The Presidium
National Democrats - Misplaced Pages Continue
5040-698: The Reichstag building in Berlin. The Bundestag also operates in multiple new government buildings in Berlin around the neo-renaissance house and has its own police force (the Bundestagspolizei ), directly subordinated to the Bundestag Presidency . Since 2021, Bärbel Bas of the SPD is the president of the Bundestag , with as many as five vice presidents, one from each faction. The presidents and vice presidents of
5160-613: The Reichstag fire . After World War II, the Bundestag did not have own facilities to call home and had to convene in the Bundeshaus in Bonn together with the Bundesrat . 1953, the plenary chambers in the Bundeshaus had to be expanded and the Bundestag assembled in a radio building in Cologne. Until 1965, the Bundestag assembled in West Berlin for nine sessions. Seven sessions have been held in
5280-578: The SPD five, the AfD and the FDP three each, The Left and the Greens two each. Members of the opposition party can chair a significant number of standing committees (e.g. the budget committee is by tradition chaired by the biggest opposition party). These committees have either a small staff or no staff at all. The members of Bundestag and the presidium are supported by the Bundestag Administration. It
5400-652: The Technische Universität Berlin and two sessions in Berlin's Congress Hall in Tiergarten . The assemblies met severe protest from the communist side, the last session even interrupted by Soviet aircraft in supersonic low-altitude flight. 1971, the four occupying powers agree to not accept Bundestag assemblies in West Berlin anymore. The Bundestag assembled in the Old Waterworks Building in Bonn when
5520-542: The United States ' " white identity ". The NPD claimed, "A non-white America is a declaration of war on all people who believe an organically grown social order based on language and culture, history and heritage to be the essence of humanity" and "Barack Obama hides this declaration of war behind his pushy sunshine smile." The NPD also stated that the extensive support for Obama in Germany "resembles an African tropical disease." In September 2009, another incident involving
5640-441: The democratic constitutional state , although the use of violence is currently still officially rejected for tactical reasons. Statements of the NPD document an essential affinity with Nazism; its agitation is racist , antisemitic , homophobic , revisionist , and intends to disparage the democratic and lawful order of the constitution. Junge Nationalisten (short: JN ; until 13 January 2018 Junge Nationaldemokraten )
5760-447: The federal elections , German police raided the Berlin headquarters of the NPD to investigate claims that letters sent from the NPD to politicians from immigrant backgrounds incited racial hatred . The NPD leader in Berlin defended the letters saying that "As part of a democracy, we're entitled to say if something doesn't suit us in this country." On 24 June 2024, it was announced that two parliamentary groups consisting of members of
5880-490: The green movement . This is one of many strategies the party has used to try to gain supporters. Historically the opposing party the German Greens have fully supported the green movement in Germany. The German Greens group was a successful European ecological group that began in 1980. Kate Connolly who is a correspondent for The Guardian wrote the article: German far-right extremists tap into green movement for support . In
6000-492: The 20th Bundestag. Any Bundestag (even after a snap election) is considered dissolved only once a newly elected Bundestag has actually gathered in order to constitute itself (Article 39 sec. 1 sentence 2 of the Basic Law), which has to happen within 30 days of its election (Article 39 sec. 2 of the Basic Law). Thus, it may happen (and has happened) that the old Bundestag gathers and makes decisions even after
6120-557: The 5% threshold and the basic mandate clause, but normally only run in state elections. The only party that has been able to benefit from this provision so far on the federal level is the South Schleswig Voters' Association , which represents the minorities of Danes and Frisians in Schleswig-Holstein and managed to win a seat in 1949 and 2021 . The latest federal election was held on Sunday, 26 September 2021, to elect
SECTION 50
#17328441431126240-423: The Bundestag considers the legislative function its most important responsibility, concentrating much of its energy on assessing and amending the government's legislative program. The committees (see below) play a prominent role in this process. Plenary sessions provide a forum for members to engage in public debate on legislative issues before them, but they tend to be well attended only when significant legislation
6360-412: The Bundestag presidency, failing to do so in 17 votes of the house. The denial to affirm a vice president from the AfD is seen as a vote of no confidence and distrust of the house in the only faction observed by Germany's domestic intelligence agency . As the President of Germany is the head of state , while the Bundestag produces, oversees, and controls the government, the president of the Bundestag
6480-572: The Confederation and the empire). Two decades later, the current parliament building was erected. The Reichstag delegates were elected by direct and equal male suffrage (and not the three-class electoral system prevailing in Prussia until 1918). The Reichstag did not participate in the appointment of the chancellor until the parliamentary reforms of October 1918 . After the Revolution of November 1918 and
6600-451: The German secret services, like the federal Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz . They include a former deputy chairman of the party and author of an anti-Semitic tract that formed a central part of the government's case. Since the secret services were unwilling to fully disclose their agents' identities and activities, the court found it impossible to decide which moves by the party were based on genuine party decisions and which were controlled by
6720-643: The Homeland founded a nationwide women's organisation, the Ring Nationaler Frauen (RNF). The party sub-organisation within the Homeland aims to act as a voice for female party members and provide a contact point for women who share nationalist views but are not affiliated with any political party. Since late May 2017, Antje Mentzel has served as the national chairperson of this organization. Bundestag Opposition (408) The Bundestag ( German: [ˈbʊndəstaːk] , "Federal Diet ")
6840-593: The International Congress Centre Bundeshaus Bonn and in the northern areas the branch office of the Bundesrat ("Federal Council"), which represents the Länder – the federated states. The southern areas became part of German offices for the United Nations in 2008. The former Reichstag building housed a history exhibition ( Fragen an die deutsche Geschichte ) and served occasionally as
6960-463: The Landtag of Saxony held a minute of silence for the victims of Nazi Germany . Holger Apfel , leader of the NPD in Saxony and deputy leader of the party nationwide, boycotted the remembrance along with 11 other NPD politicians and staged a walkout from the Landtag chamber. He also gave a speech in which he demanded a moment of silence be held for the victims of the bombing of Dresden in 1945 and called
7080-533: The NPD achieved success in the late 1960s, winning local government seats across West Germany. In 1966 and 1967, fueled by West German discontent with a lagging economy and with the leadership of Chancellor Ludwig Erhard , the NPD won 15 seats in Bavaria , 10 in lower Saxony , 8 in Hesse , and several other seats. However, the NPD did not then and has never since received the minimum 5% of votes in federal elections that allow
7200-418: The NPD and a football player of the Germany national team was reported. In a television show of a regional channel, NPD spokesman Beier called midfielder Mesut Özil a "Plaste-Deutscher" ("Plastic German" or "ID Card German"), meaning someone who is not born German, but becomes German by naturalization, particularly for certain benefits. The German Football Association announced that they would immediately file
7320-627: The NPD during the next election. In 2009, the NPD hung anti-Polish posters with slogan "Polen-Invasion Stoppen" ("Stop the Polish invasion") in Dresden and Görlitz . Mayor of Görlitz and then Chancellor of Germany , Angela Merkel , condemned the posters. In April 2009, the party was fined 2.5 million euros for filing incorrect financial statements, resulting, according to German broadcaster Deutsche Welle , in "serious financial trouble" for its administration. On 23 September 2009, four days before
SECTION 60
#17328441431127440-532: The NPD from 1996 to 2011. He was succeeded by Holger Apfel , who in turn was replaced by Udo Pastörs in December 2013. In November 2014, Pastörs was ousted and Frank Franz became the party's leader. Voigt was elected the party's first Member of the European Parliament in 2014. The party lost the seat in the 2019 European Parliament election . In June 2023, the party renamed itself to Die Heimat after
7560-405: The NPD in court. In May 2009, several state politicians published an extensive document which they claim proves the NPD's opposition to the constitution without relying on information supplied by undercover agents. This move was intended to lead up to a second attempt to have the NPD banned. At the 2010 NPD party conference at Bamberg it was announced that the party would ask its members to approve
7680-409: The NPD in the 1960s cannot be classified as a neo-Nazi party. Yet, when the coalition fell apart, around 75 percent of those who had voted for the NPD drifted back to the centre-right. During the 1970s, the NPD went into decline, suffering from an internal split over failing to get into the German Parliament . The issue of immigration spurred a small rebound in popular interest from the mid-1980s to
7800-473: The NPD. German officials again tried to outlaw the NPD by submitting a request to the Federal Constitutional Court in 2016. On 17 January 2017, the second senate of the Federal Constitutional Court rejected the attempt to outlaw the party. The reasoning behind the decision was that the NPD's political significance is virtually nonexistent at both the state and federal levels and that as such,
7920-409: The Protection of the Constitution contains the following description: The party continues to pursue a "people's front" of the nationalists [consisting of] the NPD, DVU , and forces not attached to any party, which is supposed to develop into a base for an encompassing 'German people's movement'. The aggressive agitation of the NPD unabashedly aims towards the abolition of parliamentary democracy and
8040-582: The Reichstag building: the Jakob-Kaiser-Haus, Paul-Löbe-Haus and Marie-Elisabeth-Lüders-Haus . In 2005, a small aircraft crashed close to the German Parliament. It was then decided to ban private air traffic over Central Berlin. Together with the Bundesrat , the Bundestag is the legislative branch of the German political system . Although most legislation is initiated by the executive branch,
8160-619: The Reichstag met only rarely, usually at the Kroll Opera House to unanimously rubber-stamp the decisions of the government. It last convened on 26 April 1942. With the new constitution of 1949 , the Bundestag was established as the new West German parliament. Because West Berlin was not officially under the jurisdiction of the constitution, a legacy of the Cold War , the Bundestag met in Bonn in several different buildings, including (provisionally)
8280-443: The article Connolly explains the opposition between these two political groups pertaining to the green movement. The Artaman league is essential in understanding the green movements history. This was a farming movement that was inspired by the " blood and soil " ruralist ideology adopted from the Nazis . This farming movement affected the Mecklenburg region of Germany during the 19th century. Settlers at this time took advantage of
8400-400: The beginning of the new electoral period must be brought up by the government again if it aims to uphold the motion, this procedure in effect delaying the passage of the bill. Furthermore, any newly elected Bundestag will have to freshly decide on the rules of procedure ( Geschäftsordnung ), which is done by a formal decision of taking over such rules from the preceding Bundestag by reference. If
8520-450: The building. Since 19 April 1999, the German parliament has again assembled in Berlin in its original Reichstag building, which was built in 1888 based on the plans of German architect Paul Wallot and underwent a significant renovation under the lead of British architect Lord Norman Foster . Parliamentary committees and subcommittees, public hearings and parliamentary group meetings take place in three auxiliary buildings, which surround
8640-511: The centre-left Social Democratic Party (SPD). The coalition government had created a vacuum in the traditional political right wing , which the NPD tried to fill. Additionally, the party benefited from hostility to the growing immigrant population and fears that the government would relinquish claims to the "lost territories" ( pre-World War II German territory east of the Oder-Neisse River ). The historian Walter Laqueur has argued that
8760-419: The chancellor and their ministers, to each of which the parliament constituted mirroring committees for oversight ( Ausschüsse ). Setting the government budget is the parliament's primary privilege, for which to execute it assembles the largest and most important committee of the house. Opposed to most debates in the Bundestag focussing on a specific topic, budget bills from the committee are heavily debated in
8880-424: The chancellor or cabinet officials. For example, the Bundestag can conduct a question hour ( Fragestunde ), in which a government representative responds to a written question previously submitted by a member. Members can ask related questions during the question hour. The questions can concern anything from a major policy issue to a specific constituent's problem. Use of the question hour has increased markedly over
9000-457: The cheap cost of land in these rural communities. These settlers were in support of the Artaman league and continued to reinforce the ideology. The NDP's plans are to take the ecological movement back from the German Greens group. Connolly spoke to different farmers, organizations, and employees of the government to represent the different perspectives of the ecological movement. Hans-Gunter Laimer,
9120-403: The course of 2006, the NPD processed roughly 2,000 party applications to push the membership total over 7,200. In 2008, the trend of a growing number of members has been reversed and the party's membership is estimated at 7,000. In the 2014 European elections , Udo Voigt was elected as the party's first Member of the European Parliament . In 2001, the federal government, the Bundestag , and
9240-411: The early 1990s, but the party only saw limited success in various local elections. In September 2019, NPD politician Stefan Jagsch was elected as representative of Altenstadt -Waldsiedlung. The unanimous election of the NPD politician by the local council led to irritation and horror in other parties, such as Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), and
9360-421: The election of a new Bundestag that has not gathered in order to constitute itself. For example, elections to the 16th Bundestag took place on 18 September 2005, but the 15th Bundestag still convened after election day to make some decisions on German military engagement abroad, and was entitled to do so, as the newly elected 16th Bundestag did not convene for the first time until 18 October 2005. Also following
9480-616: The establishment of the Weimar Constitution , women were given the right to vote for (and serve in) the Reichstag, and the parliament could use the no-confidence vote to force the chancellor or any cabinet member to resign. In 1933, Adolf Hitler was appointed chancellor and through the Reichstag Fire Decree , the Enabling Act of 1933 and the death of President Paul von Hindenburg in 1934, gained unlimited power. After this,
9600-493: The extent of its representation on committees, the time slots allotted for speaking, the number of committee chairs it can hold, and its representation in executive bodies of the Bundestag. The fractions, not the members, receive the bulk of government funding for legislative and administrative activities. The leadership of each fraction consists of a parliamentary party leader, several deputy leaders, and an executive committee. The leadership's major responsibilities are to represent
9720-446: The farming industry have lost consumers because they are not able to state what the political views of the farmers products are to the consumer. For example, BioPark is an organic cultivation organization with a vetting process to certify organic farmers. The vetting process is strictly based on cultivation methods and not on political affiliations. BioPark has lost customers because left-leaning supporters worry buying local organic produce
9840-489: The house. The Bundestag has several functions, among which a few are shared with the Bundesrat . It is the chief legislative body on the federal level, producing the federal government and its presiding chancellor . The individual states ( Bundesländer ) of Germany participate in the legislative process through the Bundesrat, a separate assembly sharing several privileges with the house. The Bundestag elects and oversees
9960-415: The legislative bodies of Germany. It is thus the historical successor to the earlier Reichstag . The members of the Bundestag are representatives of the German people as a whole, are not bound by any orders or instructions and are only accountable to their electorate and their conscience. The minimum legal number of members of the Bundestag ( German : Mitglieder des Bundestages ) is 598; however, due to
10080-704: The liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP), whose local council members had voted for Jagsch. Since its founding in 1964, The Homeland has only won seats in regional assemblies. Its successes in state parliaments can be grouped into two periods: the late 1960s (1966 in Hesse ; 1967 in Bremen , Lower Saxony , Rhineland-Palatinate , and Schleswig-Holstein ; and 1968 in Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria ), and former East Germany since reunification (2006 and 2011 in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern , 2004 and 2009 in Saxony ). In
10200-608: The members of the 20th Bundestag. In several districts of Berlin the 2021 election was repeated due to irregularities. This changed the number of additional mandates of the Bundestag from 138 to 137, resulting in the FDP losing a seat. Parties that were only present between 1949 and 1957 The most important organisational structures within the Bundestag are 'fractions' ( Fraktionen ; sing. Fraktion ). A parliamentary fraction must consist of at least 5% of all members of parliament. Members of parliament from different parties may only join in
10320-469: The moderate government that had presided over Germany's recovery. In November 1964, however, right-wing splinter groups united to form the NPD. One of the four founding members was Adolf von Thadden , who entered politics as a member of the German Right Party and Deutsche Reichspartei before joining the NPD and serving as its chairman from 1967 to 1971. Owing to von Thadden's effective leadership
10440-400: The national level in order to avoid negative vote weight . To qualify for seats based on the party-list vote share, a party must either win three single-member constituencies via first votes (basic mandate clause) or exceed a threshold of 5% of the second votes nationwide. If a party only wins one or two single-member constituencies and fails to get at least 5% of the second votes, it keeps
10560-450: The next three parliamentary sittings. The NPD members denied accusations that they wore the shirts as a deliberate provocation. German officials tried to outlaw the party again in December 2012, with the interior ministers of all 16 states recommending a ban. The Federal Constitutional Court is yet to vote on the recommendation. In March 2013 the Merkel government said it would not try to ban
10680-472: The number of federal ministries, and the titles of each are roughly similar (e.g., defense, agriculture, and labor). There are, as of the current nineteenth Bundestag, 24 standing committees. The distribution of committee chairs and the membership of each committee reflect the relative strength of the various Parliamentary groups in the chamber. In the current nineteenth Bundestag, the CDU/CSU chaired ten committees,
10800-456: The old plenary chamber had to get broken down, and in the new plenary chamber for only a few years after Germany's reunification. The most distinctive assembly of the Bundestag outsite its regular chambers was on 4 October 1990, the day after German reunification . The Bundestag assembled inside the Reichstag building in Berlin for the first time after 57 years, and remote from its then-regular home in Bonn. Soon after this most memorable assembly,
10920-434: The other parties receive compensation seats. Owing to this provision, the Bundestag usually has more than 598 members. The 20th and current Bundestag, for example, has 735 seats: 598 regular seats and 137 overhang and compensation seats. Overhang seats are calculated at the state level, so many more seats are added to balance this out among the different states, adding more seats than would be needed to compensate for overhang at
11040-421: The parliament are elected by the members of the parliament from among their midst. Usually each faction's proposed candidate gets a simple affirmation for the office by a vote of the whole house, no matter whether the faction is governing or in opposition and regularly without distinction of person. The radical-right AfD is the first and only faction in the history of reunited Germany not being able to take seat in
11160-411: The parliament's sittings wearing clothing from Thor Steinar , a clothing brand that is popular amongst neo-Nazis; the legislature responded by saying that such provocative clothing was not permitted to be worn in the parliament and demanded that the NPD's members remove and replace their attire; the NPD's members refused, resulting in the members being expelled from the parliament and banned from attending
11280-506: The party had no chance of posing a significant threat to the constitutional order. It was also reasoned that outlawing the party would not change the mindset and political ideology of its members and supporters, who in the event of a ban could simply form a new movement under a different name. However, the Court also openly acknowledged that NPD is unconstitutional based on its manifesto and ideology, citing "links to neo-Nazism" and that "anti-semitism
11400-709: The party to Nazism. Patrick Owomoyela was later informed about the poster after it was noted that the image depicted a footballer wearing a white jersey with Owomoyela's number on it. Owomoyela, of Nigerian descent, had played for the Germany national team in the years before the World Cup and proceeded to file a lawsuit against the party. The party was able to delay the procedures but in April 2009 three party officials, Udo Voigt , Frank Schwerdt, and Klaus Beier, were convicted of Volksverhetzung (incitement to hatred). Voigt and Beier were sentenced to 7 months of probation, and Schwerdt
11520-486: The party's demand for a referendum on the reintroduction of capital punishment as anti-constitutional and incompatible with the liberal democratic basic order . The party renamed itself to Die Heimat ("The Homeland") at the party congress in Riesa in early June 2023. 77% voted in favor of the name change. The Homeland is a neo-Nazi political party. It calls itself a party of "grandparents and grandchildren" because
11640-521: The party's position on it. Parties that do not hold 5% of the Bundestag-seats may be granted the status of a Gruppe ('group') in the Bundestag; this is decided case by case, as the rules of procedure do not state a fixed number of seats for this. This status entails some privileges which are in general less than those of a Fraktion . The Bundestag's executive bodies include the Council of Elders and
11760-504: The party's web site stated that due to the prevalence of people of non-German descent on the Germany national football team , the team "was not really German". Later in 2006, the party designed leaflets, which said "White – not just the color of a jersey! For a true National team!" This leaflet was never mass-distributed, but copies were confiscated during a raid on the NPD's headquarters, when authorities had been hoping to find material linking
11880-495: The past forty years, with more than 20,000 questions being posed during the 1987–90 term. The opposition parties actively exercise their parliamentary right to scrutinize government actions. Constituent services also take place via the Petition Committee. In 2004, the Petition Committee received over 18,000 complaints from citizens and was able to negotiate a mutually satisfactory solution to more than half of them. In 2005, as
12000-404: The policies and activities of Israel . The Homeland's platform asserts that Germany is larger than the present-day Federal Republic, and calls for a return of German territory lost after World War II , a foreign policy position abandoned by the German government in 1990. In the early 21st century, long-standing efforts to ban the party were renewed. The 2005 report of the Federal Office for
12120-493: The possibility of a funding freeze for parties after the second NPD ban procedure failed in 2017. In 2019, the Bundestag , Bundesrat and federal government jointly submitted a proposal to exclude the NPD from state funding. In January 2024 the Federal Constitutional Court allowed the freezing of state funding for six years, saying that the party "aimed to undermine or eliminate the country’s democratic system". The German Federal Constitutional Court , in its verdict, considered
12240-471: The rights of the Bundestag were exercised by a so-called "Permanent Committee". Germany uses the mixed-member proportional representation system, a system of proportional representation combined with elements of first-past-the-post voting . The Bundestag has 598 nominal members, elected for a four-year term; these seats are distributed between the sixteen German states in proportion to the states' population eligible to vote. Every elector has two votes:
12360-654: The risk of gradual adjustment and bourgeoisie". The JN describe themselves as anti-imperialist. Among other things, they call for the withdrawal of German troops from Afghanistan, describe Israel as the "enemy of all peoples", and refer to it as becoming a parasitic state. The JN maintains active contacts with a network of neo-Nazi organizations across Europe, like the Nordic Resistance Movement whose Finnish independence day march it has attended, along with National Corps of Ukraine, Bulgarian National Union , Serbian Action and others. In mid-September 2006,
12480-476: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title National Democrats . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=National_Democrats&oldid=928198967 " Categories : Disambiguation pages Political party disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
12600-442: The secret services in an attempt to further the ban. The court determined that so many of the party's actions were influenced by the government that the resulting "lack of clarity" made it impossible to defend a ban. "The presence of the state at the leadership level makes influence on its aims and activities unavoidable," it concluded. Horst Mahler , a former member of the far-left terrorist organization Red Army Faction , defended
12720-463: The single-member seat(s), but other parties that accomplish at least one of the two threshold conditions receive compensation seats. In the most recent example of this, during the 2002 election , the PDS won only 4.0% of the second votes nationwide, but won two constituencies in the state of Berlin . The same applies if an independent candidate wins a single-member constituency, which has not happened since
12840-562: The so-called " Zwickau terrorist cell ". This raised the possibility of another effort to outlaw the party. The cell had been implicated in a string of murders and the November robbery of a savings bank in Eisenach . Authorities were also pursuing a gun case against Ralf Wohlleben, former deputy chairman of the party's branch in Thuringia , though the latter case was reportedly unlikely to translate into
12960-517: The state elections. The NPD argued that because of politics, the date and the in-school venue, the concert "was an unacceptable form of political campaigning." In protest, the NPD vowed to buy the tickets and turn up en masse at Wecker's show, which led local authorities to cancel the event. The Social Democrats and the Greens were outraged by the decision, which the Central Council of Jews in Germany criticized as "politically bankrupt". The NPD
13080-543: The statement, which some controversially claimed was a violation of the German law which forbids Holocaust denial . However, after a judicial review, it was decided that Voigt's description of the Allied bombing of Dresden as a " holocaust " was an exercise of free speech and " defamation of the dead" was not the purpose of his statement. In 2009, the NPD joined the Junge Landsmannschaft Ostdeutschland in
13200-458: The style of a review and general criticism on the government for the past year ( Generaldebatte ). The Bundestag also exclusively mandates about deployment, dispatch and assignments of the Bundeswehr , Germany's military. The commander-in-chief , which is the federal minister of defence , is obliged to and acting on behalf of the parliament ( Parlamentsarmee ). Since 1999, the Bundestag has met in
13320-406: The succeeding Bundestag convents with same or similar majorities like its predecessor, the parliament can decide to take over earlier initiatives of legislation in the same fashion to abbreviate the process, thus effectively breaking the principle of discontinuation by a pull. The discontinuation of the parliament is the reason why the four-year-long convent is numbered. The current convent is numbered
13440-400: The system of overhang and leveling seats the current 20th Bundestag has a total of 735 members, making it the largest Bundestag to date and the largest freely elected national parliamentary chamber in the world. The members of the Bundestag refer to their workplace as Hohes Haus, august house. The Bundestag is elected every four years by German citizens aged 18 and older. Elections use
13560-466: The tradition of German diets , the German Bundestag can legally convene on any location, domestic and foreign. The Reichstag plenary chamber is not determined by law as the location of the assembly, making it a facility of convenience. Bundestag's predecessor, the German Reichstag , convened in the Kroll Opera House in Berlin, after the Reichstag with its then wooden interior and walls burned down in
13680-519: The vote nationally. It garnered the highest percent of votes in the states of Saxony (4.9 percent), Thuringia (3.7 percent), Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (3.5 percent) and Brandenburg (3.2 percent), all formerly part of East Germany . In most other states, the party won around 1 percent of the total votes cast. In the 2006 Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state election , the NPD received 7.3% of the vote and thus achieved state representation there, as well. The NPD had 5,300 registered party members in 2004. Over
13800-488: Was a structural element of the party ideology" in its reasoning. The Court also indirectly suggested that state grants or other financial contributions should not be given to such parties to further their unconstitutional cause. This prompted calls by the public for the proposal of a constitutional amendment which would forbid unconstitutional parties' financing to the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany. The proposal
13920-427: Was criticized by the interior policy spokesman of Die Linke , who claimed that such a constitutional amendment could stand to serve as a politically dubious way to remove a political opponent. Constitutional law professor Hans Herbert von Arnim [ de ] warned that such a constitutional amendment would apply to all extra-parliamentary parties, not just the NPD. The German legislative bodies then created
14040-537: Was founded in 1964 as successor to the German Reich Party (German: Deutsche Reichspartei , DRP). Party statements also self-identified the party as Germany's "only significant patriotic force" (2012). On 1 January 2011, the nationalist German People's Union merged with the NPD and the party name of the National Democratic Party of Germany was extended by the addition of "The People's Union". As
14160-506: Was going to sponsor a march through Leipzig on 21 June 2006, as the 2006 World Cup was going on. The party wanted to show its support for the Iranian national football team , which was playing in Leipzig , and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad . However, the NPD decided against the demonstration; only a counter-demonstration took place that day, in support of Israel . During the World Cup,
14280-755: Was in the German Confederation (called Deutscher Bund in German). It convened in Frankfurt am Main from 1816 to 1866. In English it is referred to as Federal Convention . With the dissolution of the German Confederation in 1866 and the founding of the German Empire ( German Reich ) in 1871, the Reichstag was established as the German parliament in Berlin, which was the capital of the then Kingdom of Prussia (the largest and most influential state in both
14400-568: Was sentenced to 10 months of probation. In November 2008, shortly after the 2008 United States presidential election , the NPD published a document entitled "Africa conquers the White House" which stated that the election of Barack Obama as the first African-American President of the United States was the result of "the American alliance of Jews and Negroes " and that Obama aimed to destroy
#111888