The Union's criticism of Traffic Light's plans to reform electoral law comes as no surprise.

The announced lawsuit in Karlsruhe has already priced in the traffic light.

The new electoral law, which limits the Bundestag to a fixed size of 598 MPs, is to be passed by Easter so that the Federal Constitutional Court still has enough time to examine the rules for their compatibility with the Basic Law.

The SPD, Greens and FDP had also prepared for the charge of unconstitutionality by setting up a phalanx of the three constitutional law teachers Jelena von Achenbach, Christoph Möllers and Florian Meinel to defend the plans.

Helen Bubrowski

Political correspondent in Berlin.

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On Monday, however, some traffic light politicians were surprised by the tone in which the criticism was presented.

The FDP in particular had hoped to get the Union on board until the end.

Talks between Ampel and Union are planned for this week.

After all, it is a good tradition in Germany that changes to the electoral law are not enforced by the ruling parties.

"Ax on the democratic foundation"

But the words of CSU General Secretary Martin Huber shattered hopes of an agreement.

"With its proposal for electoral law reform, the traffic light operates organized election fraud," he said.

“We only know from rogue states that directly elected members of parliament are refused entry to parliament.” The CSU politician went on to say that the plans would not be accepted in their current form.

"The left-yellow traffic light lays the ax on our democratic foundation."

Stefan Müller, parliamentary director of the CSU state group in the Bundestag, spoke to the news portal "The Pioneer" of a "blatant disregard for the will of the voters and the rule of law and democracy" if elected constituency candidates were denied the mandate.

Ansgar Heveling, legal counsel for the Union faction and CDU chairman in the electoral law commission of the Bundestag, told the "Table.Media" portal: "Anyone who builds on constitutional sand must expect that the constitutional court will be appealed to."

Union wants to agree on group position

According to the traffic light proposals, there should no longer be a guarantee that a constituency winner will win a mandate.

He also needs the so-called “main vote coverage”: In a federal state, only as many constituency winners may enter the Bundestag as the party is entitled to based on the result of the main votes (as the second vote should be called in future).

If, according to the previous legal situation, there would have been overhang mandates, constituency winners with the weakest results should no longer get a chance.

In some state associations of the CDU there is sympathy for the traffic light proposals, for example in North Rhine-Westphalia and Hamburg, where there are no overhang mandates.

But it is not to be expected that they will finally agree to the traffic light proposal, which is to go into the first reading next week.

"The right to vote is not a question of conscience, so we will agree on a group position," said Thorsten Frei, parliamentary director of the Union faction, the FAZ

However, he was open to reform and talks.

"There are clear expectations among the population that the size of the Bundestag will be reduced, and we are well advised to do so." From the Union's point of view, real two-vote voting rights (also known as trench voting rights) are the best way, and this would also Number of seats limited to 598.

"Of course we are ready to talk," said Frei, "however, the traffic light was not very cooperative on this point in the past."