Deck 11: The German Political System

Question 1

The West German government was established by the governments of all of the following except:

A) Britain
B) France
C) the United States
D) the Soviet Union

Answer 1

the Soviet Union

Question 2

The name of the first postwar constitution in West Germany was:

A) Klumenfelt
B) Basic Law
C) Charter of Rights
D) Orders of Commons

Answer 2

Basic Law

Question 3

What was one of the biggest concerns when West and East Germany were unified in 1990?

A) integration of the armed forces
B) linguistic differences that had developed over the years of separation
C) the costs of reunification
D) building roads connecting the East and the West

Answer 3

the costs of reunification

Question 4

One of the goals of the Basic Law was to

A) remedy the defect of "too much democracy" in the earlier regime.
B) control freedom of speech in West Germany.
C) show East Germans that they were permitted to publicly speak.
D) prevent civil war between East and West Germany.

Question 5

The key constitutional bodies in Germany today are the Constitutional Court, the President, the upper house of the legislature, the lower house of the legislature, and

A) the Cabinet and Chancellor
B) the bureaucracy
C) the military
D) the Privy Council

Question 6

What is one of the key drawbacks of the German style of federalism?

A) the states have too much power compared to the center
B) the center has too much power compared to the states
C) it is impossible to pass policy
D) policy can vary from state to state, providing unequal opportunities for citizens

Question 7

German federalism is often referred to as an example of:

A) centralized federalism
B) decentralized federalism
C) social federalism
D) cooperative federalism

Question 8

The three different types of legislation in Germany involve (a) federal jurisdiction, (b) state jurisdiction, and

A) private jurisdiction
B) concurrent jurisdiction
C) domestic jurisdiction
D) exclusive jurisdiction

Question 9

In response to the pre-World War II history of Germany, the individuals who drafted the Basic Law in 1948 felt that

A) a strong head of state was essential to control the prime minister.
B) a strong legislature could control the executive branch.
C) there was little need for a strong head of state.
D) no head of state was needed.

Question 10

To make up for the weak head of state, the office of the Chancellor was

A) made strong and not vulnerable to short-term political pressures.
B) also made weak and power was given to the legislature.
C) subject to review by the Constitutional Court.
D) easily removed from office.

Question 11

The federal chancellor and her cabinet are referred to in Germany as:

A) the bureaucracy
B) the executive branch
C) the confabulation
D) the Federal Government

Question 12

The positive vote of non-confidence

A) makes it easy for the legislature to fire the chancellor.
B) makes it extremely difficult for the legislature to fire the chancellor.
C) makes it easy for the chancellor to fire the legislature.
D) makes it difficult for the chancellor to fire the legislature.

Question 13

The positive vote of non-confidence has led some to call the German political system a "semi-parliamentary system" because

A) it is so easy to vote non-confidence in the Government.
B) the Government is virtually no longer responsible to the Bundestag.
C) the legislature cannot vote non-confidence in the Government.
D) the Bundestag has no role in the confidence process.

Question 14

The difference between a positive vote of no confidence and a simple vote of no confidence is that in a simple vote of no confidence

A) legislators support the Chancellor.
B) legislators support the President.
C) a majority votes a government down, but doesn't agree on a substitute government.
D) a majority votes for a piece of legislation, not the Chancellor.

Question 15

In elections for the federal legislature, members of the lower house are elected by single member districts and by

A) multiple member districts
B) district-based committees
C) statewide party proportional lists
D) an electoral college for selecting the president

Question 16

The Bundestag, the upper house, is elected

A) by multiple-member district voting
B) by single-member district voting
C) by the legislatures of the state governments
D) by special electoral colleges in the states

Question 17

The role of the Bundesrat in the legislative process depends upon

A) the subject of the specific piece of legislation involved.
B) how big the government majority is in the Bundestag.
C) how big the government majority is in the Bundesrat.
D) how long it took to debate the legislation in question.

Question 18

In Germany all federal legislation, wherever it originates, begins its legislative journey in:

A) the Bundestag
B) the Bundesrat
C) the Federal Government
D) the Bureaucracy

Question 19

The Bundesrat has an absolute veto over all bills that

A) deal with foreign policy.
B) directly affect the states.
C) deal with economic policy.
D) directly affect the federal government.

Question 20

The German party system has evolved since the 1949 election to become a:

A) multi-party system
B) single-party dominated system
C) regular multi-party coalition system
D) two coalition, if not two party, system

Question 21

The German ballot is easily identifiable among national ballots because

A) it is invariably very long.
B) it is very short.
C) it has two columns and voters vote twice.
D) it has a single very long list of names on it.

Question 22

What is the "constituency vote" in German federal election based upon?

A) 299 single-member districts
B) 89 multiple-member districts
C) 14 state governments
D) 11 Lander administrators

Question 23

When parties win more seats on the first ballot in the constituencies than they are entitled to according to the second vote proportions, the result is:

A) second votes
B) overhang mandates
C) constructive opposition
D) bonus seats

Question 24

Voting turnout in Germany is high. In the 2009 election turnout was:
A. over 70 percent
B. over 75 percent
C. over 80 percent
D. over 90 percent

Question 25

What is the constitution structure designed to prevent too many political parties from being represented in the German legislature called?

A) the positive vote of non-confidence
B) consortial federalism
C) second ballot
D) five percent clause

Question 26

The Basic Law was never ratified directly by the West German public.

Question 27

The federal president in Germany has a number of very significant political powers.

Question 28

While the Basic Law sought to control some of the "overly democratic" structures, it did not intend to restrict individual freedoms.

Question 29

Germany is one of two major states in Western Europe that are federal rather than unitary.

Question 30

German federalism is financially cheaper than unitary government would be.

Question 31

Legislation within the federal jurisdiction that affects the Lander, even if the Lander themselves cannot legislate on the issue, must be approved by a majority of the Land representatives in the Bundesrat, or it does not become law.

Question 32

Like the Supreme Court of the United States, the Constitutional Court of Germany serves as a court of appeals.

Question 33

Members of the Parliamentary Council in 1948 believed that the president should be "neutralized,"
which meant that she or he should have few, if any, significant political powers.

Question 34

The first female Chancellor, Angela Merkel, was elected in 1975.

Question 35

The constitutional structure in Germany that makes it hard for the legislature to fire the Chancellor is called the positive vote of no confidence.

Question 36

The Bundestag is the upper house of the German legislature.

Question 37

German states, Lander, each have five representatives in the upper house of the Federal Legislature.

Question 38

The Five Percent Clause indicates that parties can win seats from the proportional representation "second votes" only if they receive at least 5 percent of the votes.

Question 39

Unlike many democracies, in Germany, political parties are constitutionally included in the political system.

Question 40

The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has a sister party in Bavaria called the Free Democratic Party.

Question 41

German federalism is different from federalism in the United States in several respects. What are the most important of these differences?

Question 42

The German Chancellor is far more secure in her office than the prime ministers in most parliamentary nations. Why? What are the political structures that help to make this the case?

Question 43

Although the Bundestag, the lower house of the federal legislature, is very important, in some key respects the upper house, the Bundestag, is very important. How has the Bundestag managed to retain its importance in the legislative process in Germany?

Question 44

What is the key significance of the Five Percent Clause in German elections?

Question 45

How stable have German political parties been compared to their counterparts in Britain or France? How would you compare concepts such as votes of confidence/non-confidence and coalition governments in Germany with France and Britain?