There is now the necessary majority for extending the electoral period of the German Bundestag from four to five years – but there are still no concrete plans for implementation. At the final meeting of the Bundestag Commission on the reform of electoral law and the modernization of parliamentary work on Thursday evening, the Union also voted in favor of the proposal by the SPD, Greens and FDP to increase the length of the legislative period to five years. According to dpa information, however, it is still unclear for which election this should apply for the first time.
On Thursday evening, the Bundestag Commission decided on its final report with numerous recommendations – including the extension of the electoral period.
“With an additional year, the legislature would have more time to implement structural reforms without being interrupted by the government formation phase and the election campaign,” said the FDP’s chairman on the commission, Konstantin Kuhle, of the German Press Agency in Berlin. “With a five-year electoral period, democratic legitimacy would still be adequately guaranteed.” With the decision to downsize the Bundestag, Parliament has shown that it is capable of reforming itself. “Only after this has been achieved is an extension of the electoral period indicated.”
Union: Parliamentary work would be more continuous and stable
During the deliberations of the commission, the CDU/CSU had already shown that the Bundestag should only be elected every five years. But only in the last meeting did their chairman Ansgar Heveling expressly agree to the traffic light recommendation. “A moderate extension by one year gives the opportunity to do continuous and stable legislative work,” he told the dpa. The SPD chairman Sebastian Hartmann argued similarly on “Zeit Online”: “I think that by adjusting the electoral periods in a situation will arise in which the phase for parliamentary work will become longer.”
The electoral period lasts five years in the European Parliament and in 15 of the 16 state parliaments. Only in the state of Bremen is the state parliament elected every four years – the next time on May 14th.
