Problems governing Germany

Governing Germany was problematic. There were many different actors in the governing of Germany. The Kaiser was the ultimate decision maker in Germany, and any policy could not be implemented without his approval. The ministers of the Reich were only answerable to the Kaiser and not the German Parliament called the Reichstag. This meant that ministers and the Kaiser could create policy and laws completely independently of the Reichstag.

The Reichstag, was the parliamentary body in Germany made up of elected members who could discuss and vote on new legislation. They also had the power to amend legislation too, but if the Kaiser didn’t agree it didn’t happen. Germany had a number of political parties on both the left and right. To pass laws, the right-wing parties often grouped together and agreed on the laws. The fact that the Kaiser had ultimate decision making power meant that the Reichstag was often powerless to act in some cases.