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Political Parties: www.spd.de Germany's current political party in power (Social Democatic Party) features a web-page that introduces the various aspects of political life, members of parliament, party agendas, campaigns, etc. Gerhard Schroder's party (the German chancellor) looks back upon a history of more than 130 years. Veterans such as August Bebel or Wilhelm Liebknecht would have never thought of computers as major means of political influence and representation. www.cdu.de Being the party in opposition, this link represents the Christian Democratic Party of Germany. Ex-Chancellor Helmuth Kohls' party has been facing serious charges of financial fraud for 2 years now. The aftermath of the current debate has damaged the image of both Kohl and his party to a great extent. The current leader, Angelika Merkel, deals with a legacy of doubtful success (Kohl's claim to have managed Germany's reunification almost by himself, etc.). www.fdp.de The Free Liberal Party has been both a political ally of the SPD and the CDU. Many of the party's issues deal with more individual responsibility in business and less state-commissioned programs. This party is usually referred to as the party of lawyers, physicians, or business people. However, the FDP has succeeded in attracting a umber of young Germans who have faced the new economic opportunities since the political change of 1989. Political Institutions www.bundestag.de www.bundesrat.de While the Bundestag represents the political party's individual members, the Bundesrat features the governments of each of Germany's federal counties. Many legislative changes have to pass both Bundestag and Bundesrat to become effective. Since Germany's federal counties (Länder) are either governed by SPD or CDU councils, the Bundesrat debates similarly like the Bundestag. This link also introduces Germany's federal counties. This link is therefore both politically as well geographically quite informative. |