aug 11, 1919 - New constitution established

Description:

Written and established by the new government, the new constitution is very free, with positives and negatives.

~ Equal rights for all, including right to vote, freedom of the press and other freedoms.
~ Lead by a president who was voted in every 7 years.
~ A chancellor was head of the government, and was chosen by the president.
~ The cabinet was the main decision making body.
~ Reichstag was the main house, elected as seats by the people using <b>proportional representation</b>, meaning seats were allocated by percentage of the vote.
~Reichsrat was like the reichstag, except it represented the regions of Germany, with number of seats depending on the size of the region.
~ Laws were passed by both houses.
~ All above 21 could vote.

+ No one group had too much power.
+ The two governments could keep the other in check by delaying laws.
+ Voting age from 25 to 21, and woman could now vote.
+ The local region governments with their own traditions still retained some power.

- The president had too much power with <b>Article 48</b>. This allowed him to bypass the government when making laws in times of emergency.
- Far-left and and right parties could freely criticizes the new government.
- Extremists parties were able to be voted in because of proportional representation.
- Proportional representation also meant a strong majority was rare, and mostly weak coalition governments were formed.

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