FAZ exclusive: This is how the traffic light wants to make the Bundestag smaller

With 736 members, the German Bundestag is now one of the largest parliaments in the world.

In order to ensure the workability and functionality of the people's representation and to keep the costs from constantly rising, an effective downsizing is required.

But that's not the only reason: in the next few years we will have to change a lot of things because of the various crises.

Politicians can only lead this process of change if they are willing to reform their own structures.

Effective electoral reform is therefore a question of the self-respect of the political establishment.

As representatives of the SPD, Greens and FDP in the Electoral Law Commission of the Bundestag, we have developed a joint proposal in discussions with experts from science and practice.

To this end, we want to continue to build on the basic principle of personalized proportional representation.

Even today, every ballot paper for the Bundestag election contains an important reference above the word "second vote", namely the words "decisive vote for the distribution of the seats overall to the individual parties".

If you think this through, the question arises as to why a party in a country is allotted more constituency mandates than it is entitled to based on the result of the second vote.

We want to change that.

According to our proposal, as usual, the total number of seats will be distributed in proportion to the second votes won by the parties nationwide.

We want to call this voice the list voice in the future.

All parties that receive at least five percent of the valid list votes or whose candidates have received the most first votes in at least three constituencies take part in the distribution.

In the future we will call the first voice the personal voice.

A party's number of seats at state level is determined by the list votes it achieves in the states.

A constituency mandate is now awarded to whoever can present the most personal votes covered by list votes in a constituency.

Not every elected direct candidate would make it into parliament

For example, if a party is entitled to five seats in a federal state, but its constituency candidates have received the most votes in six constituencies, the candidate who received the lowest percentage of votes does not meet the requirements and the mandate is not allocated.

If a party wins fewer constituency mandates than it is entitled to based on the list of votes, the remaining mandates are – as before – allocated via the list.

Such an approach would have numerous advantages.

The system of personalized proportional representation, in which the constituency vote is only intended to influence the composition of the Bundestag with people, but not the party proportional representation, is being implemented consistently.

Overhang mandates cannot arise.

Equalization mandates are therefore no longer necessary.

The regular size of the Bundestag is strictly adhered to in any case.

And each party gets as many seats in each country as it is entitled to there based on the list vote result.

The decisive factor for the selection is the proportion of votes in the constituency.