Bloated the Bundestag Is the Reichstag building soon became too small?

20 years after moving to Berlin to sit in the Bundestag, much more members than originally planned. All Attempts to reduce the size of the Parliament, have failed. In the pillory the Union.

Dominik Lauck, tagesschau.de

As at 19. In April 1999, the Bundestag held its first debate in the renovated Reichstag, as the parties fought over the name for the building. They agreed on a compromise: Not the Reichstag, the Bundestag, until today it is officially called "plenary area of the Reichstag building". 20 years later, so many members sitting here, like never before. Although all parties agree that the bloated Bundestag must be reduced - for years, you will be able to communicate, but to no solution.

Due to the complexity of the election law, 709 parliamentarians in the Bundestag seats instead of the intended 598 currently. The higher number is caused by Overhang and balance mandates. At the next election, it could even be significantly more than 800 members. This would not only be very expensive, but also the working capacity of the Parliament at risk. Because it is only the number of members that relate to diets, but also the employees, all of which need to be housed and paid.

1/1 plenary hall of the German Bundestag in 2002 to 2017

It is become full of in the Bundestag in the plenary hall at the inaugural meetings on December 17. October 2002 and on 24. October 2017.

you can Change the display by Moving the image slider. Schäuble: "Fail to explain"

President of the Bundestag, Wolfgang Schäuble, had promised last year, an electoral law reform, after his predecessor Norbert Lammert, had failed to do so. "The Bundestag can't explain, he could not change the electoral law, because you find no solution." The will not accept the Public, called Schäuble to the parties.

in early April, he had to admit that On a bipartisan compromise, he could not agree in a Commission with representatives of the parties represented in the Bundestag in this legislative period.

300 additional members at the next election?

to blame for the misery, the overhang mandates, which occur due to the fragmented nature of the choice behavior. And then, if a party wins in a state, more seats, as your seats according to the number of Second votes it is entitled.

the CDU and the CSU in 2017, won, for example, in Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria covered all of the direct mandates - 18 mandates more than the number of Second votes. Nationwide, the Union got even 43 Overhang seats, the SPD three.

The standard size of the Bundestag is 598 deputies. Currently, 709 MP, so 111 more seats. The number of Overhang and compensation mandates has increased significantly in recent years.

Because of such Overhang seats, the majority in the Bundestag, distort, explained the Federal constitutional court in the current election law in 2012 to be unconstitutional. Since then, all of the overhang mandates will be compensated for the benefit of the other groups. So were able to move in this legislature, 111 additional members to the Parliament.

Since the party spectrum opens up more and more, could be the next Bundestag according to estimates by several research institutes to 200 or even 300 MP over the standard size.

Green, FDP and the left party agree

in Order to prevent the Green, FDP and left party want to change the ratio of lists and direct mandates, and the allocation process, as well as the number of constituencies reduced. "With these three steps, the overhang could be reduced mandates to to Zero," says Friedrich Straetmanns, sits for the left party in the reform Commission, in conversation with tagesschau.de.

A proposal that may be also the SPD could be friends, however, you want to evaluate "new", as the Parliamentary Secretary Carsten Schneider told.

the CDU/CSU reject constituency reduction

The Union rejects, however, a reduction in the constituencies, because this would be great. The General counsel of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, and Ansgar Heveling, said to tageschau.de the fear that this would increase the distance of citizens to the policy.

The AfD wants to limit the number of direct mandates. "Should have gone straight to the candidate in a constituency as a party to the second voice, a result of mandates it is entitled, are those excluded directly applicants with the relatively worst voting results of the allocation of a mandate on it," party Vice-Albrecht Glaser.

On 19. In April 1999, the then President of the Bundestag Thierse received from the hands of architect Foster (far right) with the symbolic key to the houses of Parliament.

schäuble's new proposal is met with rejection

President of the Bundestag, Schäuble has sent to the groups is now a proposal, the party stumbles across various reasons for rejection: The number of constituencies should be reduced from 299 to 270 and up to 15 overhang mandates should not be compensated.

the SPD looks "in principle, the chances for an agreement", as Schneider emphasizes, compared to tagesschau.de . The Basis for such agreement could not, however, be a proposal that one side of a party or group before parts. Britta Haßelmann, the Parliamentary Manager of the Greens, criticized the Union: she was, as yet, not been willing to look at real solutions. "You must dissolve your blockage, instead of making proposals that would benefit only the Union."

1/14 Like the German Bundestag, his face

full screen changed