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1. What is the traditional leaning of Angela Merkel's party?
Some members of the Christian Democrats (CDU) are unhappy with what they perceive as a shift to the left, however they are still essentially the major center-right force in parliament.
Green
Communist
Social Democratic
Conservative
2. What is the title of the head of government?
Chancellor
Kaiser
General Secretary
Prime Minister
3. Is the political structure of Germany centralized or federal?
Similarly to the US, states are granted extensive powers.
Centralized
Federal
4. What is the name of the German parliament?
Bundestag
Reichstag
Bundesrat
5. What does "liberal" usually mean in German politics?
pro-environmental
left-wing
economically liberal
6. Which electoral system does Germany have?
This means that ultimately, the distribution of seats depends on the popular vote.
First-Past-the-Post
Proportional Representation
7. Do smaller parties have a larger or smaller impact than in the US?
All parties with at least 5% of the popular vote are granted seats in the parliament.
larger
smaller
the same
8. What is a "Great Coalition"?
Usually, a coalition consists of a larger and a smaller party. However, the government has been formed by a Great Coalition in all but four years since 2005.
An alliance between the two largest parties to form the government
Another name for the reunification of 1990
The partnership between France and Germany
9. When is the National Day celebrated?
October 31 (Reformation Day)
October 3 (Reunification Date)
January 28 (victory in the Franco-Prussian War)
November 9 (Fall of the Berlin Wall)
10. What is "inviolable", according to the first sentence of the German constitution?
peackeeping
human dignity
the borders of the country
free market economy
11. The line "Germany above all" used to be part of the national anthem. What does it mean?
The lyrics were written in 1841, when Germany was separated into many duchies and kingdoms. The stanza containing this line was officially removed from the anthem in 1991.
Germany is superior to other countries
The divergent regions should put aside their interests for the sake of unity
National pride should matter more than all private interests
12. When did Germany first become a republic?
The Weimar Republic was rather ill-conceived and instable, paving the way for the advent of the Third Reich in 1933.
1918
1991
1949
1871
13. Which of these parties has never been part of the government?
The anti-immigrant party was formed in 2013 and entered the parliament in 2017. It regularly receives around 15% support in polls but other federal or state parties refuse to include it in governments - as of 2019.
AfD (Alternative for Germany; right-wing)
CSU (Christian Socialists; conservative)
Greens
14. The German president has about as much power as which foreign head of state?