| The government is parliamentary
and based on democratic constitution which emphasises the protection of
individuals' liberty and the division of power in a federal structure.
The republic consists of 16 federal states - the "Bundeslaender". The parliament
has two houses, the "Bundestag" and the "Bundesrat" The federal states
are represented by the "Bundesrat"(Federal Council) They send depending
on the size 3 to 5 envoys.
Legislation is the task of the Bundestag (House of Representatives). It consists of some 648 members. They are elected for a term of four years. All citizens 18 years and older are eligible to vote. The Bundespraesident (Federal President), the formal head of state is elected for five years by the Bundesversammlung (Federal Convention) The Bundeskanzler (Prime Minister) is nominated by the Bundespraesident and has to be confirmed by the Bundestag. He chooses the "Bundesminister" (Federal Ministers) The "Christdemokraten" (CDU/CSU) and the "Sozialdemokraten" (SPD) are the largest parties in Germany. Also represented in parliament are the "Liberalen" (FDP), the "Alternativen" (Buendnis 90/Gruene) and representatives of the PDS, the successor of the socialistic party of the former GDR. In the year 1991 the German Parliament decided to move the Government to Berlin after having been in Bonn for about 45 years. However, for financial and organisational reasons the government will remain in Bonn for the next couple of years.
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