The Left Party has put forward a six-point plan to strengthen German democracy, including enfranchising international citizens after five years of residence.
Van Aken proposes six-point plan to strengthen German democracy
Co-leader of the German Left Party (die Linke) Jan van Aken, has proposed a six-point plan to strengthen the country’s democratic system. According to RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland (RND), a public broadcaster given exclusive access to the paper, the party’s six-point plan includes:
- Introducing referendums (Volksentscheide) at the federal level
- Bringing the national voting age down from 18 to 16 years old
- Enfranchising international residents who have been living in Germany for at least five years
- Establishing citizens’ councils (Bürgerräte) at the state and federal level
- Capping single, private donations to political parties at 10.000 euros
- Expanding residents’ voting rights on specific economic matters
While points two, three and five are relatively straightforward, points one, four and six require slightly more explanation.
The first point would see Germany’s democratic system move more in the direction of the Swiss system. Alongside elected representatives, Switzerland operates a form of direct democracy. This is where the government and ordinary people can put policies and initiatives to a public vote. These referendums can be on multiple issues, ranging from foreign policy to policing. Referendums can take place on the federal, cantonal, and local levels.
The Left’s fourth proposal point would expand citizens’ councils. Citizens’ councils are already used in Germany, but are rare. They are made up of between 200 and 300 randomly selected members of the public. This assembly is divided into smaller working groups that are given the task of deliberating on a specific issue in society before presenting several policy suggestions that the government could implement in response to the issue. In January 2023, a citizens’ council was put together to deliberate whether the government should offer free meals for all schoolchildren in Germany.
The sixth point of the plan would expand all residents’ voting rights on specific economic issues. For example, if a company were planning mass redundancies or location closures, the employees of that company would be able to vote on the issue.
Could internationals ever have voting rights in Germany?
While the far-right extremist Alternative für Deutschland’s (AfD) popularity surge dominated the headlines following February’s federal election, the far-left party saw an unexpected renaissance.
Die Linke won 9 percent of the vote and will take 64 seats in the new parliament. Two months on, an Insa survey suggests that van Aken’s co-candidate, the so-called “TikTok queen” Heidi Reichinnek, is currently the most popular politician in the country.
The incoming CDU/CSU-SPD coalition is highly unlikely to propose that voting rights be extended to international residents. In all policy areas, die Linke’s political sway will be limited, but not insignificant. However, the election results give both the AfD and die Linke a “blocking majority”, meaning the CDU/CSU-SPD government will be short of the two-thirds majority they need to change any German constitutional law.
Currently, around 45 countries in the world allow non-citizen voting at the local, regional or national level. However, only four of these countries allow international residents to vote at the national level, as die Linke is proposing. These countries are Chile, Uruguay, New Zealand and Malawi.