The Federal Agency for Civic Education has offered the Wahl-O-Mat since 2002. It compares a voter’s answers on a list of political statements with the answers of the parties. For the federal election of 2025 it had 38 statements. Each party could add a reason of up to 500 characters to each answer. Users can read these reasons on pages such as Begründungen zu den Thesen, reasons for the statements. The answers come directly from the parties.
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The Five Economic Wise Ones
Germans call them die Wirtschaftsweisen, the economic wise ones. Their official name is the German Council of Economic Experts. A federal law of 14 August 1963 created it. The law sets one main condition for its five members. They must have special knowledge of economics and experience of the economy. They may not represent a business association or an organization of employers or employees. Every year the council must deliver its annual report to the federal government by 15 November. A minority may publish a dissenting view. On 12 November 2025, the council handed its report to Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
Experts Before the Vote
Before the Bundestag passes a law, its committees often hear experts. The rules of procedure allow a committee to hold public hearings of experts, representatives of interest groups and other informants. For a bill, the lead committee must hold a hearing if a quarter of its members demand it. If a minority demands the hearing, it must take place within ten sitting weeks. The informants named by that minority must be heard.
The Journalists Are the Hosts
The Bundespressekonferenz, the federal press conference, was founded in Bonn in 1949 by the journalists accredited to the Bundestag. It is their association, not a government body. Three times a week, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, it holds the government press conference. The spokespeople of the federal government and the ministries come as guests and answer the journalists’ questions. The association’s own description reads: Parlamentskorrespondenten organisieren Pressekonferenzen, bei denen die Bundesregierung regelmäßig zu Gast ist. Parliamentary correspondents organize press conferences at which the federal government is a regular guest.
Questions in Parliament
The rules of the Bundestag allow a speech to be interrupted with a question. With the speaker’s consent, the president may give the floor for Zwischenfragen, interim questions, which must be short and precise. A member may also make a short intervention of no more than two minutes, and the speaker may answer once more. On 6 June 2018, the chancellor faced members’ questions directly in the Bundestag for the first time. The coalition agreement had obliged Angela Merkel to do so three times a year. Each question had one minute, and each answer had one minute.
The State Pays for the Master’s Course
The Aufstiegs-BAföG, widely called the Meister-BAföG, helps people in mid-career pay for an advanced qualification such as the master craftsman’s exam. In 2024, the state covered course and exam fees of up to 15,000 euros and paid half of that as a grant. The rest came as a loan. Whoever passes the exam has half of the outstanding loan for the fees cancelled. Whoever then starts a business can have the loan cancelled completely. In 2015, the grant had been 30.5 percent and the reward for passing 25 percent.
Three Readings for Every Bill
No bill becomes law in the Bundestag in a single debate. Under the Bundestag’s rules of procedure, bills are dealt with in three readings. The Bundestag’s research service set this out in 2017. The three readings come from the rules of procedure, not from the Basic Law. The Bundestag can depart from them in a single case only with a two-thirds majority of the members present.
The Longest-Serving Member Opens Parliament
The first sitting of a new Bundestag is opened by the Alterspräsident, literally the president by age. Until 2017 that was the oldest member. On 1 June 2017, the Bundestag changed its rules. Now the member who has belonged to the Bundestag longest opens the sitting. Age decides only when two members have served equally long. The stated reason was parliamentary experience. The change also had a political background. Under the old rule, a member of the AfD, which was about to enter the Bundestag, would have opened the 2017 session. On 25 March 2025, Gregor Gysi opened the new Bundestag after thirty years and nine months as a member. The title is still Alterspräsident.
Foreign Qualifications Are Checked
A professional qualification earned abroad is not simply accepted in Germany. Since 1 April 2012, the Professional Qualifications Assessment Act has set out how it is checked. The responsible body compares it with the German qualification and declares it equivalent if there are no essential differences. Gaps can be made up by relevant professional experience, but only if that experience is proven. For regulated professions, recognition remains a condition for working. For others, it is voluntary.
Procedural Errors That Do Not Count
German administrative law sets a limit on procedure. Under § 46 of the Administrative Procedure Act, a citizen cannot demand that a decision be set aside only because the authority broke rules of procedure, form or local jurisdiction, wenn offensichtlich ist, dass die Verletzung die Entscheidung in der Sache nicht beeinflusst hat, if it is obvious that the breach did not affect the decision on the matter.