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Skybird · 12-12-20, 11:07 AM

What the 50 states are in the US, are the 16 Bundesländer (translates into federal states) in Germany. Both nations are federalistic in structure. This was enforced by the Allies after WWII to prevent that there will ever be a dominant central government again that could hijack the nation easily, the design of the Federal Republic is such that the states can block the central government on many things (like we see during th Corona pandemic in all clearness, like in the US every German state still does its own - mostly stupid - little thing). The federal states' minister presidents pretty much can do their own things on many regards (not all), they are equivalent to American governors. Like in the US, the German national government has sovereignty on some fields of politics only.

Note that there are three federal states that are cities only: Hansestadt Bremen, Hansestadt Hamburg, and Berlin. Berlin is both seat of the Berlin senate (governing the federal state of Berlin), and the German national government.

The differences between the US and Germany lie

- in the election systems (majority vote in the US plus the complication of the electoral college system, versus proportional representation, which has its own complications and makes that the Bundestag is growing bigger and bigger: Germany has the second biggest parliament in the world after China: over 700 seats currently),

- in the far greater power of the US president compared to the German chancellor,

- and the two chambers of parliament: while Congress and Bundestag can be compared, US senators get voted for in the US, too, while the Bundesrat in Germany is formed up by states' heads of govenrments and are not separately elected by the people.

12-12-20, 11:07 AM	#1158
Skybird Soaring Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: the mental asylum named Germany Posts: 42,788 Downloads: 10 Uploads: 0	What the 50 states are in the US, are the 16 Bundesländer (translates into federal states) in Germany. Both nations are federalistic in structure. This was enforced by the Allies after WWII to prevent that there will ever be a dominant central government again that could hijack the nation easily, the design of the Federal Republic is such that the states can block the central government on many things (like we see during th Corona pandemic in all clearness, like in the US every German state still does its own - mostly stupid - little thing). The federal states' minister presidents pretty much can do their own things on many regards (not all), they are equivalent to American governors. Like in the US, the German national government has sovereignty on some fields of politics only. Note that there are three federal states that are cities only: Hansestadt Bremen, Hansestadt Hamburg, and Berlin. Berlin is both seat of the Berlin senate (governing the federal state of Berlin), and the German national government. The differences between the US and Germany lie - in the election systems (majority vote in the US plus the complication of the electoral college system, versus proportional representation, which has its own complications and makes that the Bundestag is growing bigger and bigger: Germany has the second biggest parliament in the world after China: over 700 seats currently), - in the far greater power of the US president compared to the German chancellor, - and the two chambers of parliament: while Congress and Bundestag can be compared, US senators get voted for in the US, too, while the Bundesrat in Germany is formed up by states' heads of govenrments and are not separately elected by the people. __________________ If you feel nuts, consult an expert. Last edited by Skybird; 12-12-20 at 11:25 AM.