To what extent was the effective government of Germany in the years 1919–33 handicapped by the nature of the Weimar Constitution?
To what extent was the effective government of Germany in the years 1919–33 handicapped by the nature of the Weimar Constitution?
It is for certain that the Weimar Constitution had an impact in the effective government of Germany in the years of 1919-33. However, it can be argued from both sides whether this constitution had a negative or positive impact on the effective government. One could say that the constitution was a dominant factor in the ineffectiveness of the government, while on the other hand it could be argued that ineptness of the government is due to other external factors such as defeat and the depression
A major flaw in the Weimar constitution was the proportional representation electoral system, which was an attempt to become more democratic. Democracy comes at the price of a strong government as it is usually difficult to form a stable government in a democracy. This can be manifested by the fact that in the mere period of 14 years, there were 21 different governments and 13 chancellors. This shows that the Weimar government lacked stability and strength which would make it almost impossible for the government to be effective and tackle the problems. How could the government solve the difficult troubles that Germany was facing, when they could not even manage to cooperate and unite? Since, proportional representation is one of the fairest electoral systems, it was impossible to form a strong single party government who had a good hold in the Reichstag and only weak coalitions which could not agree upon a decision was formed. Weak coalitions meant ineffective and incompetent governments. On the other hand, it could be said that the Weimar governments were not as unstable as it is claimed to be. The Weimar constitution has produced effective and stable governments such as the grand coalition which was seen as a strong government and it stood for the longest amount of time. Also, despite the numerous changes in government, the base parties of
It is for certain that the Weimar Constitution had an impact in the effective government of Germany in the years of 1919-33. However, it can be argued from both sides whether this constitution had a negative or positive impact on the effective government. One could say that the constitution was a dominant factor in the ineffectiveness of the government, while on the other hand it could be argued that ineptness of the government is due to other external factors such as defeat and the depression
A major flaw in the Weimar constitution was the proportional representation electoral system, which was an attempt to become more democratic. Democracy comes at the price of a strong government as it is usually difficult to form a stable government in a democracy. This can be manifested by the fact that in the mere period of 14 years, there were 21 different governments and 13 chancellors. This shows that the Weimar government lacked stability and strength which would make it almost impossible for the government to be effective and tackle the problems. How could the government solve the difficult troubles that Germany was facing, when they could not even manage to cooperate and unite? Since, proportional representation is one of the fairest electoral systems, it was impossible to form a strong single party government who had a good hold in the Reichstag and only weak coalitions which could not agree upon a decision was formed. Weak coalitions meant ineffective and incompetent governments. On the other hand, it could be said that the Weimar governments were not as unstable as it is claimed to be. The Weimar constitution has produced effective and stable governments such as the grand coalition which was seen as a strong government and it stood for the longest amount of time. Also, despite the numerous changes in government, the base parties of