Enjoy a sunny Sunday afternoon with @FairVoteCanada, listening to @Arne_JJ from Germany, speaking about how #ProportionalRepresentation has worked, how it makes a difference in their politics and policies. Really interesting stuff! #polisci #ElectoralReform
(A thread)

It's so refreshing hearing about how parties work together, through honest and transparent agreements, collaboration and power sharing. Coming from North America/#cdnpoli, this level of maturity is such a foreign concept. Kudos to Germany!
@FairVoteCanada #ElectoralReform

.@Arne_JJ : Germany's #ProportionalRepresentation system has encouraged a diversity of voices, fair dist of seats, civil discourse, and a wide spectrum of views contributing to policy discussions.
(Again, so foreign a concept for #cdnpoli.)
@FairVoteCanada #ElectoralReform

.@Arne_JJ : In Germany, we have seen a civil and stable government under #ProportionalRepresentation, and responsible handover of power. Coalition governments have meant more transparency and accountability.
(#cdnpoli - IMAGINE!)
@FairVoteCanada #ElectoralReform

.@Arne_JJ : National governments in Germany must compromise not only with other parties, but also within parties, and with regional governments. Collaboration is engrained. And money in politics is comparatively limited. More public financing. @FairVoteCanada #ElectoralReform

.@Arne_JJ: We also have a stronger public media in Germany compared to many other countries. Good public discourse. Our #ProportionalRepresentation voting system certainly wasn't the only reason, but it is an important one. @FairVoteCanada #ElectoralReform

(FYI, Germany has a closed-list Mixed Member #ProportionalRepresentation system. The same type that was proposed in Ontario's 2007 referendum. IMO, it's far better than open-list proposals - confusing and chaotic. Closed lists much better.) @FairVoteCanada #ElectoralReform

.@Arne_JJ : Civil society organizations in Germany have greater potential in some ways to influence policy, because coalitions tend to have 2-3 parties. But can also create a challenge of "who to target" with lobbying. Diverse views give choices. @FairVoteCanada #ElectoralReform

.@Arne_JJ : The US is unique in its hyper-partisanship, and the dual partisanship creates a "black and white" scenario. Very different political culture in Germany, where you have to partner with other parties, with whom you have disagreements. @FairVoteCanada #ElectoralReform

More voices are heard in a coalition govt scenario. Rather than all private and not-for-profit lobbying having to focus on one party (the one in power), organizations can lobby one particular party, that will have influence on policy development. @FairVoteCanada #ElectoralReform

.@Arne_JJ : More than 50% of members of the Greens are women. But conservative parties tend to have around 20%. Can't say that #ProportionalRepresentation is the reason here. Germany needs to do much better in having minorities in politics too. @FairVoteCanada #ElectoralReform

.@Arne_JJ : In #COVID19 situation, there were extraordinary levels of dialogue between national and state governments, ensuring a more unified and common approach. There is still party competition, but we've done relatively well in Germany. @FairVoteCanada #ElectoralReform

.@Arne_JJ : #ClimateChange has been the number 1 concern in recent years in Germany. The Green Party is considered as having the highest competence on the issue, so it's less a priority for other parties. But Greens in shared power throughout. @FairVoteCanada #ElectoralReform

.@Arne_JJ : In the US, public funding for politics plays a tiny role. In Germany, it's huge. You have to win votes to get financing - much greater reliance on public support than on corporate donations. (Germany's approach is FAR more democratic.) @FairVoteCanada #ElectoralReform

In Canada, we used to have per-vote public subsidies for national political parties. It was a way to decrease reliance on the wealthy/corporations, motivate parties to win votes (not just seats), and bring fairness to politics. We no longer have that. @FairVoteCanada #cdnpoli

.@Arne_JJ : In Germany, Green Party's vote is more widely distributed, while the conservatives' vote is concentrated. Both get representation under #ProportionalRepresentation. In Canada, in contrast, only the concentrated votes get representation. @FairVoteCanada #cdnpoli

.@Arne_JJ : The conservatives in Germany have, as of late, won more seats through districts than warranted through their national vote. So that makes the legislature grow, so that parties' representation matches their votes, as much as possible. @FairVoteCanada #ElectoralReform

.@Arne_JJ : The conservatives and the social democrats used to be Germany's "big tent" parties. The SDs have lost this. German political scientists wondering if we've reached end of "big tent" parties. (Big tent parties tend to reduce diversity.) @FairVoteCanada #ElectoralReform

.@Arne_JJ : Since 2013, we've seen the rise of far-right populism in Germany. (We've seen this recently in Canada, with #cpcldr and the #PPC.) It's part of our society, in national and state parliaments. They will be with us for awhile in Germany. @FairVoteCanada #ElectoralReform

There has been talk of first-past-the-post type systems supposedly being better at keeping the extreme right out of the mainstream, but Pippa Norris notes that, in the US, it IS in power, through the #GOP. So this can happen in any system. @FairVoteCanada #ElectoralReform

In Germany, the extreme right is unlikely to be a coalition partner as the mainstream parties don't want to work with them. Versus the US, where the extreme right just joins the GOP (and the CPC in Canada). Easier path to power. @FairVoteCanada #ElectoralReform

.@Arne_JJ : We in Germany look at the politics in the US, UK and Canada, and feel content with our #ProportionalRepresentation system. (Who on earth would want FPTP anyway - divisive, less accountable, less fair, shuts out minorities, not good.) @FairVoteCanada #ElectoralReform

All done. Thanks to @FairVoteCanada for organizing this session. I love this kind of thing and it's a great addition to a summer weekend, to stimulate the brain and get us thinking about how much better #cdnpoli could be. Thanks @Arne_JJ for taking the time to speak to us! :)