issue to referendum at the federal level Madam President, ladies and gentlemen,
Winston Churchill said on 11 November 1947 at a speech in the House: "Democracy is the worst form of government - except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time."
The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, he knew at that time. There is a democratic constitutional state is sufficient, without question described the high standards.
This democracy, it is gently but constantly develop and improve.
We liberals have always supported and documented in many applications. Here is but today a request by the Group to advise the Left just does not meet a positive development to withstand. want
This is about whether and how we referendums on the federal level also. The mothers and fathers of the Basic Law have opted for a good reason for a representative democracy.
You have the results of referendums and popular initiatives may not always sufficient to use for them anyway.
That is not the fact. Certainly one can question such decisions also critical, as is allowed Bayer to me today.
But that's no reason for me to the fundamental soundness of direct elements to doubt in our polity.
why we liberals are for the strengthening of direct democracy at the local level, at country level, at the federal level, and beyond, also on the European level. I've recently made clear at this point. I am happy about civic engagement and initiative - particularly in politics.
I think more plebiscite elements, a further development of democracy for a good and proper process, even if I agree with the view to Bavaria might sometimes despair! Anyway - just because I'm no great fan of citizen participation in the countries. Just think how rarely the Bavarian constitution was changed only because the people have this opportunity. The Basic Law would not be protected in some harm.
The FDP group that put forward in the last term an application on the same theme: We want to us, and then as now, that the citizens of our country are profoundly involved in political decisions. The Federal Republic of Germany is a representative demo Katie, it should exist in the future no doubt - and yet we want to open this house for more civic participation. Especially the big issues and tough decisions are strengthened by the participation in its legitimacy.
Nevertheless, I reject, we reject the request of the Left. Apparently you have not learned anything since the discussions in the last legislative period, your application is in any case largely the same. Still, the thresholds that you create too low. We want citizens to participate, but not the dictatorship of minorities!
remain must ensure that popular initiatives are similar to broad social base as the decisions of this parliament. At the same time, however, may be the barrier to participation is not impossible or highly dissuasive. The FDP has always worked here for a threshold of 400 000 supporters - this seems to me still an on-measured height be.
Even the quorum, you should invest in the second stage in the referendum, should be reconsidered. A percentage tied to the total number of voters seems much more useful than an absolute number, which is anchored independently of the population trends of the years in the Basic Law!
But there are not only substantive reasons to reject your application, although this would be sufficient.
The coalition agreement, the government parties have agreed to expand the participation of citizens on the reform of the petition system.
There it is stated: "We want input from both the Population to strengthen the democratic decision-making. To this end we will continue to develop and improve Petiti onswesen. With mass petitions, we will provide on the Committee on Petitions existing right to be heard beyond the treatment of the concern in the plenary of the German parliament with the participation of the responsible committees. "
see we have in the past year can the dynamics of such Peti-tion can get. I myself have together with 134 000 concerned citizens signed the petition of Frank Heine against Internet censorship and thus triggered a broad debate on political failures.
this petition we want to expand significantly.
The Implementation is our priority because it involves the structures of the house with. That is, transfer the plenary successful mass petitions to the appropriate committees can then take place where expert advice.
We have now been 5 years, the online petition process that the interac-tion between citizens and parliament has finally lifted on a contemporary level. The spread of the Internet we are faced with the Ver-realization of an old dream - namely the participation of all social groups in the shaping process of our Republic. Due to public petitions, we can achieve layers away stood the political participation before are. The mature and knowledgeable citizenry can their concerns be heard and now publicly denounce abuses.
Let me say again clearly: I am in favor of a more extensive participation of citizens in politics, even in legislative procedures. I've said yes only in my speech to the European citizens' initiative at this point. I think this is a very interesting and worthy of discussion approach. Let us work together, step by step, to develop our democ-racy. An important first step, we will do after the summer break with the extended right of petition.
