The German Parliament failed to complete one of its more important constitutional functions before joining summer vacation in July. A planned vote to fill three vacancies in the Constitutional Court, after that he should note that one of the candidates, lawyers and professor Frawk Brasius-Jarsdorf did not get enough votes due to lack of support from conservatives in the ruling block.
The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Christian Social Union (CSU) and their junior partners, Center-Left Social Democratic Party (SPD) -DO’s governing parties-suttar-sutar-sitting center-right block Bundestag does not have a two-third majority command. To keep the two-thirds majority required for appointment of judges, the opposition needs support.
This was not a problem, as the opposition greens and the leftist party indicated that they would vote for Broxius-Jarsdorf, nominated by SPD. But then it emerged at the last minute that more than twenty CDU MPs would not support – especially due to her generous stan on abortion.
Distance options for Germany (AFD), the second largest faction in Parliament, Waladi had made it clear that they were protesting their nomination-unjustly, as he suggested that he would be in favor of banning the party if he meets the required requirements.
AFD: ‘This judge is unacceptable’
A few hours before the employed vote, the CDU demanded that the SPD cited new allegations with the nomination of the Brasius-Garseurf, saying that it might have disseminated his PhD dissertation in 1997, which was later rejected.
The Bundestag session was interrupted and, after the crisis talks, Bundestag voted to postpon all three scheduled elections. The CDU/CSU Parliamentary Group Leader, Jens Spanish felt bad, as he failed to estimate the candidate’s opposition level and did not manage the rally to the soldiers.
Heidi Rechinak, head of Socialist Left Party Parliamentary Group, blamed the CDU for parliamentary impulse: “You are playing party politics power games here and once again creating complete chaos.” The Green Party leader, Brita Hasselman shared this view: “Today is a bad day for Parliament, for democracy and for the federal constitution.”
Jurisdiction of German state
The Federal Constitutional Court is one of the five parts of the state of Germany. The other four are the lower house of Parliament (Bundestag), the upper house of Parliament, which represents the state governments, the President and the federal government. Together, they ensure the separation of powers, one of the main principles of a democratic society.
The role of the Constitutional Court in this system is to protect the Constitution of Germany, which is known as the original law. Half of the 16 judges is selected by Bundestag, while Bundesrat selects the other half. Each case requires a two-thirds majority. If this is obtained, the federal president appoints successful candidates as new members of the court.
State institutions have been closely developed in this election, which are particularly dependent on the coordination, especially on the parties representing the parties representing in Parliament.
Crisis mode in governing coalition
In August, Frauk Brasius-Garsdorf withdrew his application.
“Some parts of CDU/CSU have clearly rejected my election,” she wrote in a statement, saying that she did not want to wave the election process in the coalition and lead to development with unknown effects on democracy.
So said that the SPD said that she stood “till the end” and said that she had received “great support” from Greens and Left Party.
The unsuccessful vote got married in the last session of Parliament before the summer vacation. Since then, leaders of the Parliament Group of CDU, CSU and SPD have eager to demonstrate unity.
In September, the SPD nominated 51 -year -old Judge Sigrid Imnegar as a candidate for the Constitutional Court. He has the support of the committee of judicial appointments, as is the other two candidates: SPD-appointed N-Catrin Cofhold and CDU/CSU-appointed twist-spinner.
The vote in Bundestag is scheduled for Thursday, 25 September, and is expected to be widely expected.
This article was translated from German, it was first published on the day of failed vote.
When you are here: Every Tuesday, what is happening in German politics and society. You can sign up here for weekly email newsletter, Berlin Briefing.