Does Germany need a President?

[Valmy]

Combining both roles in one person works fine in the USA.

Does it?  I find it slightly dangerous and, indeed, when other country's try our system it has the unfortunate tendency to move towards Presidential dictatorships.  Our strong traditions and respect for the Constitution keep the executive under control for the most part but I am not sure our system is one everybody should emulate...with respect to the Executive Branch anyway.

[Sheilbh]

Yes, but that head of state is also the real authority who does the real work...

But imagine if their President had the level of power of a British PM, or a German Chancellor.  The power to, you know, pass laws or budgets.

[The Brain]

You need a head of state for diplomatic ceremonial reasons. Who is the head of state matters little.

[Zanza]

Yes, but that head of state is also the real authority who does the real work...

But imagine if their President had the level of power of a British PM, or a German Chancellor.  The power to, you know, pass laws or budgets.

Yes, but our heads of government already have that power. I am not sure about the checks and balances the queen exercises in the British system, but our federal president is so powerless that he is no major obstacle to a chancellor who wants implement his policies anyway. And foreign dignitaries will first contact the chancellor too. The real check in the German system is the Constitutional Court and the real balance is between the federal and the state level, with the latter having considerable power through the upper chamber of parliament.

[Valmy]

Yes, but that head of state is also the real authority who does the real work...

But imagine if their President had the level of power of a British PM, or a German Chancellor.  The power to, you know, pass laws or budgets.

The danger is having the Head of Government also having all the informal power of being the symbol of the country and all the gravitas and so forth that our President has which has the capability of him vastly overstepping his Constitutional bounds.  But I am pretty sure the German Chancellor is in this exact same position as I do not think Germans rally around their President from what I see in this article.

[Martinus]

You have to remember that the US President has a direct demographic mandate and is not just a leader of the parliamentary majority - so he can be at times at odds with the parliamentary majority which creates necessary checks and balances.

[Sheilbh]

Yes, but our heads of government already have that power. I am not sure about the checks and balances the queen exercises in the British system, but our federal president is so powerless that he is no major obstacle to a chancellor who wants implement his policies anyway. And foreign dignitaries will first contact the chancellor too. The real check in the German system is the Constitutional Court and the real balance is between the federal and the state level, with the latter having considerable power through the upper chamber of parliament.

It's exactly the same here.  Though we don't have a powerful upper chamber, or a Constitutional Court.

But I agree with Valmy.  The US President doesn't have the power of a PM in a Parliamentary system because they don't necessarily have a majority, and if they do it may not back them anyway.  I think it's potentially dangerous if you had a Chancellor, or PM who had their powers from the parliamentary majority and the informal, symbolic role of representing the nation on Memorial Sunday, leading the armed forces and so on.

This is why, as Valmy points out, Presidential systems are more likely to slide into dictatorship.  Having said that there's no example of a country doing without a head of state, or making them the head of the governing party in the legislature.  It's a strange idea really.  There are loads of examples of PM's promoting themselves to newly empowered Presidential positions (I think Erdogan's reportedly planning to do this in Turkey) but not taking the head of state position from the President to the PM.

[Sheilbh]

The danger is having the Head of Government also having all the informal power of being the symbol of the country and all the gravitas and so forth that our President has which has the capability of him vastly overstepping his Constitutional bounds.  But I am pretty sure the German Chancellor is in this exact same position as I do not think Germans rally around their President from what I see in this article.

Do Americans rally round their Presidents when they're going through personal financial scandals?

[Valmy]

Do Americans rally round their Presidents when they're going through personal financial scandals?

I am talking about how it appears Germans regard the President in general rather than the specific scandal.

But generally when large amounts of people are having personal financial problems they do demand the President do something to save them.

[Razgovory]

Raz remains unmoved by the plight of a high official in government who doesn't have enough power.

[Zanza]

Our president held a speech today at commemoration of Frederick the Great's 300th birthday. That's the kind of stuff he does, which is not much.

[Neil]

I regard it as a form of insurance against extremism.

Didn't work for Weimar, and not for lack of someone with clout in the job.

Indeed, but there was no person or combination of persons who could have kept the Weimar Republic afloat.

[Razgovory]

If someone paid me not to do anything important, I wouldn't complain.

[Josquius]

You know what would solve this problem and make everything better? Bring back the kaiser!

This really does make for rather good reading for any would be British republicans.

[syk]

You know what would solve this problem and make everything better? Bring back the kaiser!

This really does make for rather good reading for any would be British republicans.

Would also be easier to excuse scandals then.