Elections in the crisis? Korte encourages active participation!

Elections in the crisis? Korte encourages active participation!

On March 15, 2025, the Sparkasse discussion took place in the Kreissparkasse Heinsberg. Prof. Dr. Karl-Rudolf Korte, political scientist and director of the NRW School of Governance, spoke about the topic "Voting and rule in excitement democracy". According to Geilenkirchen Local Korte illuminated the political mechanisms and challenges that were created after the last federal election.

Korte criticized the election results as a "low -future", which is due to a lack of innovative perspectives during the election campaign. He emphasized how important democratic elections are and underlined the freedom that they bring with them. He also encouraged the participants to celebrate elections and to look optimistically into the future. In his lecture, Korte pointed out a clear political majority of the middle in Germany, which is emerging compared to other European countries.

elections - indispensable pillar of democracy

The speaker emphasized the decisive function of elections in a democracy. Article 20 paragraph 2 of the Basic Law stipulates that all state authority assumes the people and is exercised by elections and votes. According to BPB , elections are indispensable, while votes are considered optional. In Germany, the implementation of votes is only planned for reorganization of the federal states.

elections fulfill several essential functions: the legitimation function ensures control over the ruling, while the creation function leads to the formation of political management organs. The representation function ensures that the interests of the population are reflected in the elected representations, and the integration function promotes the inclusion of citizens in the political system.

criticism of the current turnout

Despite the important role of elections, there are growing doubts about their functionality in established democracies. Significant turnouts and falling membership in parties are worrying trends that experts such as Colin Crouch interpreted as an indication of a crisis of democracy. According to BPB it can also be seen that younger voters are less common and that the turnout depends heavily on social status.

Especially people with low income and educational qualifications are often underrepresented. In order to address these challenges, the coalition agreement suggests a lowering of the age to 16 years. In addition, the introduction of an election obligation is discussed. This could not only increase the turnout, but also lead to parties to focus more on the needs of young and socially disadvantaged voters.

The CEO of the Kreissparkasse, Thomas Giessing, praised the great interest in the Sparkassen talks. During the event, Marie-Theres was also adopted Jakobs-Bolten, who is retiring. Giessing and District Administrator Stephan Pusch paid tribute to their commitment. The Sparkasse talks offer a platform for analyzes and discussions on current topics in politics, business and society. The announcement of further exciting guests for the future events was also met.