In Germany the politics are very strong organised and precisely regulated, controlled and defined. For everything there is a rule, regulation or fixed procedure which is always regulated in the respective public law. Sometimes there is the possibility to decide something yourself and only if the law is not clearly defined or says that you can act at your own discretion (that is not defined in the law, you have to know the meaning of the expressions to understand what you are allowed to do).The politics in Germany have several levels with different degrees of power. There is always more than one institution that works together and all relations of them are regulated.

If we look at the smallest level, there is the politic of the city. There are different parts which must work together. All of them are included in the local government. The mayor in a city is one of the highest ranking and the head of the administration. He has to do many important decisions. He works closely with the city council, because he can not decide alone about all topics.

The most important political decisions in a city are taken in the council. When it comes to decisions, for example on the amount of property tax or trade tax, the council is always called upon to make decisions concerning the development of the city. For example, the council of Wesel consists of fifty council members elected by the citizens of the city. After six years the council members will change by a new election. All decisions of the council shall be taken by a vote. The mayor is the president of the council and has the right to vote on most decisions.

The members of the council often form political groups, for example the SPD or CDU. In Wesel a parliamentary group can already be formed by two council members. Groupings are often formed based on fundamental political agreement, so the voting behavior of the group members in the seats is often uniform. However, the members of the council are not bound by the instructions of their group.

When the council deals with a matter, the members of a committee have usually discussed it beforehand. The council has formed committees to facilitate its work. The work of the committees and the council is supported by the mayor and the city administration headed by her.

My name is Xenia, I am from Germany and I am an intern at the Irish Mortgage Brokers.