The topic concerns everyone – but the format is unusual. A group of 160 citizens should now get started and develop suggestions for politics surrounding food. How exactly is this supposed to work?
There is the Bundestag and the Bundesrat. And now also a citizens’ council. On Friday, Parliament President Bärbel Bas (SPD) opened the committee, which is something completely different than the two constitutional bodies. Bas told the participants who had traveled to Berlin that it felt a bit like the first day of school when everyone saw each other for the first time.
The new ideas forum is intended to develop recommendations from the population on behalf of Parliament. First of all, the everyday topic of nutrition, which affects everyone. 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.
What is the Citizens’ Council 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. “Say what you think. And talk the way you always talk. That’s exactly what the Citizens’ Council is for,” said Bas. “People who would otherwise not speak up or express their opinions loudly should also have their say here.” She assured: “We will consider your suggestions very seriously.”
And who sits on the citizens’ council?
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.
How exactly 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.
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.
What are the expectations?
The consumer advice centers support the concept of allowing citizens to discuss proposed solutions to social issues. This is important for a successful transformation process in the agriculture and food industry. Green MP Renate Künast said she was excited about the proposals. “Citizens’ councils support democracy and help us to perceive changes in society.” Götz Frömming (AfD), however, criticized: “Germany has long had “citizens’ councils”, namely the federal and state parliaments.” The consumer organization Foodwatch complained that the council suffered from the fact that it was only allowed to make non-binding suggestions. The “citizen report” should definitely not disappear into the drawer. At least one debate in the plenary session has already been scheduled.
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.
