A citizens’ assembly made up of 160 randomly selected people is supposed to give politicians recommendations on the subject of nutrition. The new ideas forum will meet for the first time this weekend. What’s it all about?
There is the Bundestag and the Bundesrat. And now also a citizens’ council.
Parliament President Bärbel Bas (SPD) will ceremoniously open the committee on Friday, but it is something completely different than the two constitutional bodies. The new ideas forum is intended to develop recommendations from the population on behalf of Parliament. First of all, the practical topic of nutrition, which affects everyone in everyday life.
One thing is clear: the Bundestag decides on laws, and it should stay that way. However, the experiment with regulated citizen participation is not entirely without controversy.
The most important questions and answers at a glance.
What is a citizens’ assembly anyway?
The SPD, Greens and FDP had announced in the coalition agreement that they wanted to use “new forms of citizen dialogue” such as citizens’ councils without giving up the principle of representation. The Bundestag decided to set up the committee in May, and in addition to the traffic lights, the Left also voted for it. When identifying the members in July, Bas explained that new approaches should be tried out with citizens’ councils. They created space for encounters to bring in personal perspectives and experiences. The diversity of opinions enriches democracy and also gives people from the “silent majority” a voice.
Who sits on the committee?
The members are not elected like members of parliament. According to the decision to appoint the council, there are 160 people who were randomly selected from all people over the age of 16 with their primary residence in Germany. With certain criteria, a “balanced participation” should be achieved, for example according to age, gender, regional origin, town size and educational background. According to the organizers, 2.5 percent of the members are vegan and 10 percent are vegetarian. When it comes to the level of education, more than 70 percent of those interested initially had a university degree – academics are now represented at around 26 percent on the council.
And how did the composition come about?
Bas identified the 160 members in a “citizen lottery”, which in turn was preceded by a step-by-step process. In June, almost 20,000 randomly selected citizens were invited to take part. There were 2,200 responses with interest in participating. From this, an algorithm determined 1,000 possible compositions of a citizens’ assembly according to the criteria determined by the Bundestag. Bas then drew one of these variants of the citizens’ assembly with 160 participants – for this she drew the three digits for the composition of the council number 187.
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How should the citizens’ assembly work?
Immediately after the opening, the first meeting will take place at the weekend. A total of three weekend meetings and six digital sessions are on the schedule. The committee should then submit a “citizen report” with recommendations by February 29, 2024 – a maximum of nine, as the concept states. Priorities should be set consciously. Voting should take place with a majority, but minority positions should also be visible. The “flat rate” is 100 euros per face-to-face session day and 50 euros per digital session. A scientific advisory board will provide technical support.
What exactly is the matter about?
The topic is “Nutrition in transition: between private matters and state tasks.” The committee should primarily concern itself with where the state should and should not be active in food policy. Specific topics include, for example, labels on environmental compatibility and animal welfare standards, the tax framework for food and food waste. The focus should be on possible measures for which the Bundestag is also responsible.
Which citizens’ assemblies already existed in Germany?
Citizens’ assemblies at the federal level are not entirely new. There were already forums that were not organized by the Bundestag but by associations. The first nationwide council met in 2019 on the topic of democracy, later it was about Germany’s role in the world or climate protection.
At the state level, there was also a citizens’ assembly in Berlin that discussed climate protection measures in the capital. In Baden-Württemberg, people looked at the strategy in agriculture and the future of the Black Forest National Park. How to deal with the corona pandemic was debated in Saxony. According to the “More Democracy” association, the forum’s 43 recommendations were “almost nowhere” reflected in the state cabinet’s measures.
Citizens’ councils have also been used to solve local problems in numerous cities. For example, Düsseldorf held a council on the future of the opera house and a council on the redesign of the market square is currently meeting in Pirna.
Are there successful role models abroad?
The most successful model is certainly the “Citizen’s Assembly” in Ireland. Here the council’s recommendation even had an influence on legislation – its vote led to more liberal abortion rights. In France, the Citizens’ Assembly recommended allowing active euthanasia under strict conditions. However, President Macron pointed out that although the proposals serve to enrich the parliamentary debate, they do not flow directly into legislation. In Switzerland there was also a citizens’ assembly on the subject of nutrition – it developed around 100 recommendations. Australia, Denmark, Finland, Great Britain, Luxembourg, Austria, Poland and Spain also use citizens’ councils.
How high are the expectations?
The consumer advice centers support the concept of allowing citizens to discuss proposed solutions to social issues together. For a successful transformation process in the agriculture and food industry, this is particularly important in order to incorporate everyday experiences, said the Federal Association’s specialist consultant, Carolin Krieger. The Union and AfD initially criticized the new body, which they believed was “not needed by Parliament”.
The “citizen report” should definitely not disappear into the drawer. A discussion in the plenary session has already been scheduled – this could then be followed by more in-depth discussions in the Bundestag committees.
Sources: DPA material, , , ,
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
