"Societies in transition: New challenges for politics" - a topic in Germany and China

Within the scope of the dialogue program "Transformation and Institutional Change“ a delegation of the Central Party School, headed by Prof. Dr. Pang Yuanzheng and comprising 11 members, visited Germany from 10 to 18 May. The central topic was “Societes in Transition: New Challenges in Politics”.

During their stay in Germany the Chinese Professors learnt about the functioning of a parliamentary democracy. They got insights into ongoing socio-political discussions in Germany and had the opportunity to exchange views on political and academic issues.

Talks with members of the CSU Party Program Commission, e.g. Prof. Ursula Maennle, Member of the Bavarian Parliament, Georg Rohleder, Chairman of the Young Union of Upper Bavaria and Georg Fahrenschon, Member of the Bundestag and Vice-chairman of the CSU Party Program Commission, focused on the draft of the new basic party program.

Prof. Ursula Maennle and Georg Rohleder introduced formal aspects of the program development, and stated the motives of the Party board for initiating a new Party Program: the completely different global political situation after the collapse of the Sowjetunion, the process of globalization and resulting economic transformations, and the demographic development in Germany plus consequences regarding social wellfare systems. Both stated that Party Programs serve the mobilisation of Party members, the initialization of internal party discussions and the political positioning of an individual party in the party system.

In his constituency Munich-Land, Georg Fahrenschein described the complex tasks of a member of the German Bundestag in the parliament and the constituency. He lectured on the changing conditions for political action and the effects of globalization. Germany lacks natural resources but is rich in human resouces, e.g. the competencies and creativity of its people. Germany aims at building up a knowledge society. Therefore, education is of crucial significance. The Innovation Center for Biotechnology IZB in Planegg is a good example for how academic research and the application of new knowledge can lead to new economic products, thus resulting in new employment opportunities, Fahrenschein said.

At the Hanns Seidel Foundation's headquarter in Munich, Dr Rainer Gepperth, Head of the Institute for International Contact and Cooperation and Deputy General Manager of the Hanns Seidel Foundation, spoke on the history, tasks and functions of political foundations in Germany, with special emphasis on education as prerequisite for political participation.

The mayor of Erlangen, Dr. Siegfried Balleis, CSU, explained his community-based political activities and demonstrated through various examples the functioning of a people-oriented administration that in contrast to traditional approaches is guided by economic criteria and perceives itself as a modern service provider for its clientele. His political credo goes like this: “Make your citizens happy”.

Talks at the Chancellor's Office with
Count Matthias von Kielmannsegg

At the German Bundestag with Hartmut
Koschyk, Member of the German Parliament

At the Institute for Political Sciences, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg, the topic “Democracy, Parliamentarism and Political Parties” was on the agenda. The president of the university, Prof. Dr. Karl Grüske, outlined the development of his institution. The cooperation network comprises universities in China. The Confucius Institute established at the university in Nürnberg/Erlangen was among the first of its kind opening abroad.

Prof. Dr. Clemens Kauffmann lectured on the political-philosophical background of democracy, its antique roots and the development of rationality. Political participation, the public reflection on policies and an ethical foundation as well as an adequate institutional framework are necessary components of democratic sytems. According to Prof. Dr. Roland Sturm, the party system in Germany is in transition. The narrow milieu-focused political relationships of political parties are dissolving and thus the volatility of voter behavior has increased. Voters nowadays put stronger emphasis on results of political action when judging policies and going to the polls. Prof. Dr. Heinrich Pehle introduced the main political parties in Germany, e.g. CDU, CSU, SPD, LDP, the Greens and the Left. The big people's parties are in competition for votes, but there attractiveness among voters is declining and smaller parties are gaining votes. The probability that coalition-based parliamentary majorities will be set up is increasing. The low extent of political polarisation supports this development. It's not ideological contradictions that dominate the political life of the big coalition but rational political debate.

At the Federal Center for Political Education, Thorsten Schilling, Head of the Media and Communication Center, introduced structure, objectives and political-didactic concepts of the federal institution. Key task is the promotion of democratic education and of poltical contents. The Center's educational approach is pluralistic and academically well focused, thus enjoying a high reputation among target groups, e.g. multipliers of political education, opinion leaders in politics, media, economy and society, but likewise students, pupils and even children. Current core items comprise globalisation, economy and social issues, environment, migration, democratic processes and democratic players. The center offers print media, a website, multimedia and various seminars as well as the support of educational institutions.

At the Willy-Brandt-House, Benjamin Mikfeld, Head of the Department Planning and Communication of the SPD-board, introduced the draft of the new basic policy program of the SPD that was initiated due to the changing political environment, e.g. global economic changes and their impact on working conditions, new social issues and national policies against the backdrop of globalisation. The economy is dependent on the enhancement of innovation capacities and the promotion of qualitative growth. From the socio-political perspective the reform of the social wellfare system is the most urgent task.

At the German Bundestag, Hartmut Koschyk, Parliamentary Head of CSU and Member of the Bundestag, emphasized that globalisation is by no means a fate-dominated process but requires guidance and creativity. From a macroeconomic point of view globalisation has positive effects. Of course, better coordination between the countries in different areas is necessary. Problems of global concern, e.g. climate change, denuclearization or the future development of Africa can be tackled best through multilateral approaches.

At the Office of the German Chancellor, the Count Matthias von Kielmansegg, head of the political planning division, received the delegation. He lectured on policies of the big coalition. Common political interests and objectives, e.g. cutting of red tape, budget reforms, technology-orientation, European and foreign policies, are the foundation which the coalition is built on and the guarantee for its stability until the end of the legislative term. Further tasks of top priority comprise the reform of the labor market and of corporate taxes and the reform of the “Pflegeversicherung”. With regard to environmental protection and renewable energies Germany is in a leading position and will do its best to keep it. The development towards a knowledge-based society will be enforced. In 2010, 3% of GDP shall be spent on R&D. The crisis of trust of the previous years has disappeared, the cooperation climate has significantly improved. That is a good prerequisite for mastering future political tasks.