The chairman of the SPD-Bundestag faction, Rolf Mützenich, sharply criticizes the Union for its handling of the electoral law reform. “In particular, the CSU is responsible for an immense loss of time. For months, the Union parties have blocked a solution through their internal dispute,” Mützenich told SPIEGEL.
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To date I have Union, which had agreed on a basis for negotiation in the parliamentary group on Tuesday, could not explain to the coalition partner what it had actually decided. “The Union continues to refuse to explain its ideas in detail. This is not an appropriate issue for our political system and is not worthy of a ruling party,” said Mützenich.
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The Union’s negotiating basis stipulates that the constituencies should be reduced from 299 to 280, and the Union also demands that seven overhang mandates not be balanced. This is a “pitiful result,” complains the SPD parliamentary leader.
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Simply reducing the constituencies by the number 19 is not a reform. “Claiming seven unbalanced overhang mandates gives rise to the suspicion that the whole campaign could be a sham package.” The result of the second votes would be falsified in the Bundestag. “But there will be no result that only benefits the CDU and CSU.” The Union proposal would also not increase the proportion of women.
SPD still ready to talk
Mützenich asked the Union to respond to the SPD proposal. This provides for a one-off capping: The direct mandates with the lowest result should no longer be taken into account in Parliament if a maximum of 690 members has been reached. “This proposal can still be implemented without much effort,” said Mützenich. The Social Democrats are open to talks.
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Due to the foreseeable shift in the strength of the parties, the next Bundestag election threatens to enlarge the parliament to 800 or more members, including additional costs and jeopardy to the ability of the parliament to work. Due to overhang and equalization mandates, there are already 709 members in the Bundestag instead of the proposed 598.
No agreement on the conversation
The parties have been arguing about how they do this for years Right to vote can reform to limit the number of seats. The government factions Union and SPD have so far not submitted a joint proposal, but, according to SPIEGEL information, held another conversation late Wednesday afternoon – without reaching an agreement.
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The government is blocking the draft law that the opposition is preparing, which provides for a comprehensive reduction in the number of constituencies. After the summer break, it is reportedly no longer possible to reduce the constituencies, while the SPD capping model could still be adopted.
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