Growing Parliamentary Government

From 1871, there was a growth of Parliamentary Government in Germany. When Germany was united into one country, the country was ruled by a constitutional monarch. Under a constitutional monarchy, the monarch was supposed to rule with the advice of the parliament. It was not for the monarch to make all the decisions. This was not the case in Germany. In Germany the Kaiser still ruled absolutely, even though there had been a move towards democracy.

The German Parliament, known as the Reichstag was established in 1871. As elections to the Reichstag became common, political parties were established and became increasingly important in the German political scene. Parties were created to represent workers such as the Social Democratic Party, ones representing different states such as Bavaria. Religion also played a part with some parties representing Catholics and Protestants.

The growth of parliamentary government increased slowly, but in reality the Reichstag did not have much power as the Kaiser had to agree to all of the laws before they could be passed. This hindered the full development of democracy in Germany.