Without judging the situation and refraining from comments about the Wisconsin affair, two side issues have occupied my thoughts. There are subtle differences in understanding democracy in the States and in Germany.
I saw masses of protesters holding up panels with various slogans inside Madison's Capitol Building. It must have been physically challenging for senators to reach their chamber, not to mention the psychological effect such protesters certainly have on legislators.
That protesting crowds invade the building of a state parliament or the Bundestag in Berlin is unthinkable in Germany. While parliaments are in session, protesters are not allowed within a defined perimeter around the building such that deputies may exercise their debates and votes undisturbed.
The map taken from the German Wikipedia shows the perimeter around the Reichstag building in Berlin called Bannmeile. It is not called a kilometer but a mile based on the measure for distances used in the various German territories before Germany's unification in 1871.
The Second Reich adopted the (French) metric system so that everyone should use the same measure for distances and weight and introduced a common currency, the Reichsmark. The Bannmeile around the Reichstag is just a few hundred meters wide, not even a mile. Inside the perimeter, you find buildings where committee meeting rooms are also located. The Bannmeile is valid only during scheduled sessions of the Bundestag.
In Germany, protests are frequent and considered a serious business. In principle, authorities must be informed before and authorize the protest. Nevertheless, you find authorized and unauthorized protesters everywhere. Sometimes I think some participants are professionals traveling from protest to protest all over Germany. Official protests even are protected by the police against disturbing anti-protesters.
In Germany, protests are frequent and considered a serious business. In principle, authorities must be informed before and authorize the protest. Nevertheless, you find authorized and unauthorized protesters everywhere. Sometimes I think some participants are professionals traveling from protest to protest all over Germany. Official protests even are protected by the police against disturbing anti-protesters.
There is a continuous protest in Freiburg each first Monday of the month against Hartz IV, a bundle of social laws that the Schröder government had passed way back in history. It is heart-warming to watch the lonely policeman walking along the marching half-dozen people until they settle on Freiburg's Rathausplatz, again only allowed when our city parliament is not in session.
The other minor difference between our democracies is that, apparently, in the States, deputies can be forced to be present for voting. In Germany, deputies simply walk out of their respective parliaments unhampered to the point that the quorum is no longer reached. In the States, Wisconsin senators unwilling to vote on the budget crossed the State boundary to be safe against the intervention by whom? Does the governor (?) call in the State troopers (?) to take senators having left the chamber back to their workplace, hand-cuffed? That is what I would call a forced democracy. I would like to learn more about these procedures when I am in Madison next week.
The other minor difference between our democracies is that, apparently, in the States, deputies can be forced to be present for voting. In Germany, deputies simply walk out of their respective parliaments unhampered to the point that the quorum is no longer reached. In the States, Wisconsin senators unwilling to vote on the budget crossed the State boundary to be safe against the intervention by whom? Does the governor (?) call in the State troopers (?) to take senators having left the chamber back to their workplace, hand-cuffed? That is what I would call a forced democracy. I would like to learn more about these procedures when I am in Madison next week.
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