Eine Woche Praktikum im Bundestag

From September 19th-23rd, Christopher Greenwood from St. Albans (England), who studies German at Oxford University, accompanied Federal Representative Klaus Hagemann (SPD) as an intern in the German Bundestag. Peter Redmayne and Tim Rickitt, two other students from St Albans (England), twin-city of Worms (Germany), also completed internships at the parliamentary office in the previous weeks, gathering first-hand experience in parliamentary work in Germany. In the last year Klaus Hagemann welcomed numerous other native English speakers from USA, United Kingdom and Australia as interns in Berlin.

It has become routine that at the end of a session-day Klaus Hagemann sits down together with his interns to compile and discuss the information in German. In the last meeting before his departure, Christopher Greenwood said: “Ich fand es spannend, überwältigen, ab und zu verwirrend aber vor allem faszinierend; wie alles läuft, wie die Politiker sich verhalten, die Atmosphäre in den verschiedenen Treffen, Debatten, Ausschüssen und Arbeitsgruppen. Es war definitiv eine einzigartige Einsicht und es wird mir auf jeden Fall in der Zukunft helfen, dass ich aus persönlichen Gründen und Erfahrungen über den Bundestag und das politische System in Deutschland reden darf.“ In the article below, Christopher reflects back on a week at the heart of government.

One week at the Bundestag.

from Christopher Greenwood

It’s first thing on Monday morning and there’s a tongue twister to start the week: The European Financial Stability Facility. A panel of experts, including the President of the German Bundesbank, has been assembled to give views on rescue packages. It’s encouraging to see a packed room of parliamentary members scribbling down pages and pages of notes. With the daunting figure of €750 billion in play, extensive consultation can be no bad thing. However with a panel of experts split on the most appropriate action, it’s difficult to know whose opinion to believe.

Belief seems a particularly pertinent theme in the run-up to the Papal visit. Later in the week Pope Benedict XVI addresses the main chamber, exhorting politicians not to “sacrifice ethics for power”. Fortunately, there is little evidence of this. With so much time spent listening to others, it would seem difficult to find the space to promote a personal agenda. This is perhaps most clearly seen in the Petition Committee, where members of the public voice cases of injustice and propose changes.

Nearly 17,000 petitions are received each year. This week there is time to take 30 into consideration, on themes as varied as adoption, pensions, driving licenses and most frequently, unemployment benefits. Following preparation and consultation by individual parties, a larger meeting is held to vote on how to respond to the petitions: in essence, whether they warrant serious consideration and need to be forwarded to the relevant governmental department, or rejected outright. Having followed the SPD’s thorough preparation, it’s dispiriting that all its input is ultimately in the hands of the CDU/CSU, who command a voting majority. In each of the 30 instances, the CDU/CSU decision passes. Whilst there are a number of passionate speeches to try and sway votes, a united front is shown by each party, with no-one breaking ranks. If anyone is sacrificing their ethics, they don’t let it show.

As the week rolls onwards, the pace accelerates. The most pointed conflicts and slick rhetoric can be found in the main plenary assembly room. At its best, the speakers are supported by their party members with a laughter and applause track that makes an episode of Friends seem underappreciated. However there are moments when the script falls away, when genuine passion or disgust clearly shine through. The president rarely bids for quiet or order, but rather allows conflicts to run their course. It’s in these moments that the politicians show their truest colours: not actors rehashing formulated lines, but as individuals convinced that they grasp a situation and its solution most clearly.

Life in the Bundestag is strikingly hectic. Committee meetings start as early as 7.30am and debates can continue past midnight; iPads and buzzing phones clutter meeting desks; decisive votes are taken in-between mouthfuls of lunch. Many small cogs incessantly spin to grind the giant wheel of democracy slowly forwards.