Until 1990, the Federal Republic comprised 11 federal states, or Länder. Following reunification with the German Democratic Republic in 1990, these were joined by a further five. Since then, the federal capital and seat of government has been Berlin, although several federal ministries still have a presence in Bonn, the former capital. Germany has been a stable democracy for over 60 years now, and this democratic culture is endorsed and embodied by the country’s citizens.

The constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany is known as the Basic Law. It begins with Article 1: “Human dignity shall be inviolable. To respect and protect it shall be the duty of all state authority.” Among the guaranteed basic rights are freedom of opinion, information, and the press (Article 5); equality before the law (Article 3); freedom of faith and conscience (Article 4); and freedom of association (Article 9). The Basic Law defines Germany as a:

• Constitutional state: all actions of the state are subject to judicial control.
  
  
• Federal state: political sovereignty is divided between the 16 Länder and the central state – a system often described as “federalist”.
  
  
• A welfare state: the government makes provisions to ensure social equity and to guarantee that citizens are provided with the requisite social welfare. This includes ensuring that citizens have a decent standard of living in the event of unemployment, disability or illness, and in old age.

The basic rights, the democratic form of government, the federal state, and the welfare state all have an irrevocable character. This means they may not be abrogated in the future either by subsequent alterations to the Basic Law or by a new constitution.

The separation of powers – i.e., the division of state powers among a number of bodies of state – is an important component of the constitution. The legislature, the executive, and the judiciary must never fall under the control of a single authority.

The 17th German Bundestag, elected on 27 September 2009, is made up of the CDU (Christlich Demokratische Union) along with its sister party, the CSU (Christlich-Soziale Union), and the FDP (Freie Demokratische Partei), which together form the coalition government; the largest opposition party is the SPD (Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands), followed by Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, and Die Linke. A very recent arrival on the German political scene is the Piratenpartei.

The elections to the Bundestag and the Länder parliaments are free, confidential, and equal (each vote counts the same). These elections are also direct. This means that people vote directly for members of parliament via a list. In Germany, elections to the Bundestag and the Länder parliaments are general elections. This means that all citizens aged 18 and over are eligible to vote and to stand for election.