Representation & Participation

Question 1

Like most parliamentary regimes, Germany “fuses” power, in that the executive branch derives directly from the legislative branch. True or False

Answer 1

True

Question 2

During a German election, if a party’s candidate wins a seat in the Bundestag as an individual member, his or her party is allotted one less seat from the party’s slate elected via list voting. True or False

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Germany’s electoral system of roughly half the seats in the Bundestag being allocated based on single-member districts advantages the small parties at the expense of the larger parties. True or False

Answer 3

False

Question 4

The executive branch in Germany introduces most legislation and must initiate all federal budget and tax legislation. True or False

Answer 4

True

Question 5

In the German system, committees will generally invite participation and testimony by supporters of proposed legislation; opponents are traditionally excluded from the process. True or False

Answer 5

False

Question 6

If the Bundesrat rejects a bill by a two-thirds vote passed by the Bundestag, all the Bunderstag need achieve is an absolute majority to override. True or False

Answer 6

False

Question 7

The party controlling the majority of state governments can have a significant effect on what legislation is passed in the German government system. True or False

Answer 7

True

Question 8

The Bundesrat introduces a significant amount of legislation, but its administrative responsibilities are minimal. True or False

Answer 8

False

Question 9

Although the CDU/CSU have supported the welfare state, they strongly opposed European integration since Adenauer. True or False

Answer 9

False

Question 10

During the early years of the Weimar Republic, the SPD became the leading party with a working majority. True or False

Answer 10

False

Question 11

Out of power from 1982 to 1998, the SPD largely failed to formulate attractive alternative policies, though it governed many states. True or False

Answer 11

True

Question 12

Chancellor Merkel’s support for nuclear energy served her party well in 2011, believing that the future is cheap reliable energy. True or False

Answer 12

False

Question 13

The PDS is concentrated in the 5 states of the former East Germany and has received over 20 percent of the vote in regional and local elections. True or False

Answer 13

True

Question 14

The FRG is one of the few countries in western Europe that has not had a far-right and/or neo-fascist party gain seats in its national legislature. True or False

Answer 14

True

Question 15

Germany voter turnout rates are less than 40 percent, reflecting the apathetic nature of the country’s electorate. True or False

Answer 15

False

Question 16

Germany has an electoral system whereby about half of deputies are elected from direct constituencies and the other half are drawn from closed party lists referred to as: a) balanced legislative system, b) staggered electoral system, c) mixed member system, d) combo electoral structure.

Answer 16

c) mixed member system

Question 17

In areas that directly affect the states, the Bundesrat can veto any bill passed by
the Bundestag: a) contested legislation, b) rejected proposal, c) consent veto, d) absolute veto.

Answer 17

d) absolute veto.

Question 18

In policy areas with no direct effect on the states, the Bundesrat has the prerogative to make the Bundestag pass a bill a second time: a) suspensive veto b) legislative veto, c) party veto, d) report veto.

Answer 18

a) suspensive veto

Question 19

The constitutional guarantee that political parties have a privileged place in German politics, including generous subsidies for building party organizations: a) party democracy, b) party unity, c) party stability, d) party political system.

Answer 19

a) party democracy

Question 20

Ostpolitik refers to: a) government subsidies provided to key industries, b) socialized health care system, c) a policy developed to promote contact and commerce with the Soviet Union and its communist allies, d) a commitment made never to develop weapons of mass destruction.

Answer 20

c) a policy developed to promote contact and commerce with the Soviet Union and its communist allies

Question 21

In Germany the lower house, the Bundestag, consists of how many seats? a) 515, b) 614, c) 713, d) 756

Answer 21

b) 614

Question 22

The European tradition in which parties are allotted seats in the legislature based on the percentage of popular votes they receive: a) proportional representation, b) unit rule, c) complimentary allocation, d) equitable distribution.

Answer 22

a) proportional representation

Question 23

How has Germany avoided the wild proliferation of parties that plagues some democracies, such as Italy and Israel, where coalitions are extremely difficult to form and sustain? a) by penalizing parties with financial citations that cannot muster a three percent vote, b) by requiring lists of candidates who were elected multiple times in previous elections, c) by requiring parties to pay an exorbitant public fee to become recognized, d) by requiring parties to receive at least 5 percent of the nationwide vote.

Answer 23

d) by requiring parties to receive at least 5 percent of the nationwide vote

Question 24

What is the primary purpose for debating a bill in the Bundestag that has come out of committee? a) to allow the opposition an opportunity to respond, b) to educate the public about the major issues of the bill, c) to provide interest groups an opportunity to voice their concerns, d) to rectify any problems by amending the bill.

Answer 24

b) to educate the public about the major issues of the bill

Question 25

How many members comprise the Bundesrat (upper chamber) representing the 16 Lander states? a) 57, b) 69, c) 72, d) 83.

Answer 25

b) 69

Question 26

The ability of the Bundesrat to slow down legislation when it votes against a bill passed by the Bundestag: a) suspensive veto, b) constructive veto, c) productive veto, d) beneficial veto.

Answer 26

a) suspensive veto

Question 27

Why has Germany often been called a party democracy? a) Because parties are so important to shaping state policy, b) Because the number of governing political parties have increased since the Weimar Republic, c) Because political parties have supplanted interest groups as the forces that influence politics, d) Because political parties are better able to interpret the German constitution.

Answer 27

a) Because parties are so important to shaping state policy

Question 28

The two far right political parties of Germany which emphasizes nationalism and aggression toward immigrants and ethnic minorities: a) Free Democratic Party and the Party of the State, b) the National Democratic Party and the German Peoples Union, c) the Union of Republican Socialists and the Democratic Vanguard, d) the State Christian Union and The Party National Unity.

Answer 28

b) the National Democratic Party and the German Peoples Union

Question 29

In 2005 a group of former left-wing Social Democrats who believed Schröder’s reforms undermined social democracy along with members of the East German Communist Party formed: a) the German People’s Union, b) the National Democratic Party, c) the Eco Party, d) die Linke.

Answer 29

d) die Linke

Question 30

The 2009 election enabled Chancellor Merkel to form her preferred coalition with the: a) SPD, b) die Linke, c) Greens, d) FDP

Answer 30

d) FDP

Question 31

The Social Democratic Party of Germany was founded in 1875 in response to: a) rapid industrialization, b) threats on the newly formed German state by the French, c) the growing unrest among the Junker movement, d) stabilize the right-wing forces that were on the verge of disbanding

Answer 31

a) rapid industrialization

Question 32

What percentage of the vote was the SPD able to obtain from 1949 to the early 1960s? a) 25%, b) 30%, c) 42%, d) 53%

Answer 32

b) 30%

Question 33

What happened to the SPD as a result of the 1959 party conference? a) It emphasized its primary reliance on Marxism, restructuring its party platform, b) It disassociated itself from the working class, c) It focused more on becoming a "catchall all" party attempting to broaden its support from labor to the middle class and Christians, d) It essentially became yet another conservative party, similar to other center-right parties in West Germany.

Answer 33

c) It focused more on becoming a "catchall all" party attempting to broaden its support from labor to the middle class and Christians

Question 34

The Greens are a) professional entrepreneurs, industrialists, and small land-owners, b) local artisans, small business owners, and rural farmers, c) intellectuals, public employees, private sector workers, and militarists, d) ecological activists, rural farmers, anti-nuclear activists, and small bands of Marxist-Leninists.

Answer 34

d) ecological activists, rural farmers, anti-nuclear activists, and small bands of Marxist-Leninists.

Question 35

What has been the Free Democratic Party's (FDP) major influence since the establishment of the Federal Republic of Germany? a) it is a swing party that has allied itself with each of the 2 major parties at different times to form a majority coalition, b) it has achieved a plurality win at different times to form a working government majority, c) it has refused to ally itself either of the 2 major parties of Germany, serving more a spoiler role, d) it continues to die and then rise up after each major German election, eventually becoming the majority party in 2005.

Answer 35

a) it is a swing party that has allied itself with each of the 2 major parties at different times to form a majority coalition

Question 36

The Free Democratic Party embraces: a) the liberal tradition of a strong welfare state, b) economic liberalism in the European sense and social liberalism, c) centralized decision-making to assure efficiency of the state while focusing on the individual, d) a faith in an expansive government to assure social security and stability.

Answer 36

b) economic liberalism in the European sense and social liberalism

Question 37

What has helped make the Left Party (die Linke) have a growing base of support where it receives nearly 25 percent of the vote in the state of the old East Germany? a) its opposition to the NATO treaty, b) its opposition to cuts in social spending, c) its rejection of continued EU integration, d) its support for giving legal status to illegal migrant workers.

Answer 37

b) its opposition to cuts in social spending

Question 38

Representing a hybrid system, voters in Germany are asked to: a) cast ____ votes on their ballot: the first for an individual candidate in a voter’s local _________ b) and the second for a list of national/regional candidates grouped by ______ affiliation.

Answer 38

a) two, district | b) party

Question 39

What are the drawbacks of a tradition of strong, unified parties in the Bundestag? a) New members must serve long stints as _____________. b) ___________ legislators have ____ opportunities to make an impact. c) Some of the most __________ national politicians have preferred to serve their political apprenticeship in ______ or ______ government, where they have more visibility.

Answer 39

a) backbenchers b) individual, few c) prominent, state, local

Question 40

The Bundesrat exercises the following power: a) it can exercise an absolute veto on ___________ to the constitution as well as all _____ that affect the fundamental interests of the _______, b) such as ______, territorial integrity, and basic administrative functions.

Answer 40

a) amendments, laws, states | b) taxes

Question 41

Until the 1980s, Germany had a "two-and-a-half" party system, a) comprised of the moderate left _______ Democratic Party (SPD), b) the moderate right __________ Democratic grouping (CDU in most of the FRG, CSU in ________), c) and the small, centrist _____ Democratic Party (FDP).

Answer 41

a) Social b) Christian, Bavaria c) Free