Parliamentwatch

Abgeordnetenwatch.de is a nonpartisan and institutionally independent internet platform, which opened for citizens the opportunity to question publicly German MPs of various parliaments. It is operated since December 8, 2004 by Gregory Hack Mack & Boris Hekele GbR and later profit Parlamentwatch GmbH in cooperation with various partners. In addition to questions and answers vocational qualifications, membership of committees, notifiable sideline and the voting behavior of MPs in Parliament important decisions are publicly available.

The origin took the portal in Hamburg as an online survey platform of choice candidate and member of the Hamburg Parliament and the Hamburg district assemblies. At the 2005 federal election came with kandidatenwatch.de add a platform that serves the exclusive survey of election candidates. Both projects were extended to the Bundestag and the European Parliament, and will in future also be permanently extended to all 16 state parliaments of the German states.

History

The project was launched on 8 December 2004 for the Hamburg Parliament. This was preceded by a successful referendum on the reform of the electoral law, which should give the citizens more opportunities for participation. About the online dialogue on abgeordnetenwatch.de was given the opportunity for citizens to know better their politicians to be able to make an informed decision at the next election can. In the following years the members of the Hamburg district assemblies could be interviewed on abgeordnetenwatch.de. With the meeting of the elected 24 February 2008 Hamburg Parliament abgeordnetenwatch.de was temporarily suspended for the Hanseatic city, have come together to sufficient funding. The reason given was that the project had been unable to continue to serve on a volunteer basis.

According to the operators of over 15,000 questions have been asked, answered of which over 12,000, which corresponds to a rate of 80% since the start of abgeordnetenwatch.de for the Bundestag on December 8, 2006 to August 1, 2007. Daily reach over 10,000 visitors to the site; journalists inform partly already using the Internet platform. The media partners of the project are the online editions of Der Spiegel, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Stern, Die Welt, Frankfurter Rundschau and Der Tagesspiegel. The project was selected in the final round of the Grimme Online Award 2005 and 2007.

Due to the success of the Bundestag 2007 support groups have been set up to make abgeordnetenwatch.de also available for the 16 state legislatures in August. This will be made possible through donations and memberships that will be issued specifically for the desired state. Once the first 90 days are pre-funded, you 'll start the portal for the relevant Parliament, announced the operator.

About the offshoot kandidatenwatch.de the contact with the candidates was made possible at European, federal and state elections. For the first time it was possible in the general election in 2005 to ask about the side issues to all direct candidates in the constituencies. These offered the page, an overview of the election programs of almost all parties that compete with direct candidates for election. Also in the elections in Rhineland Palatinate, Baden Wuerttemberg, Saxony -Anhalt, Mecklenburg- Vorpommern, Berlin and Bremen, it was possible to ask questions to the candidates, which were answered by them.

Function

At present, the contact with the members of the Bundestag, the German members of the European Parliament and to the members of the state in Hamburg, Bavaria, North Rhine -Westphalia, Hesse, Berlin, Lower Saxony, Saxony, Schleswig -Holstein and Baden- Württemberg possible. Since June 2011, some county councils, town and community councils are represented. About the offshoot kandidatenwatch.de an equivalent contact with candidates from Europe, federal and state elections is possible. It is a non-profit project of Parlamentwatch GmbH and is operated in cooperation with the clubs more democracy and more civil rights and the social venture capital fund BonVenture. Both projects are to be financed in the medium and long term through the establishment of support groups, the sale of profile extensions ( kandidatenwatch.de ) and the offering of online advertising ( but which can be hidden if required ). However, the Parlamentwatch GmbH undertakes all the profits, should this ever occur to donate to charitable organizations. This obligation is laid down in the Articles of Association.

A basic entry is available and free on each candidate. It contains basic details of the person. For a one time fee of 179 euros ( state elections ) to 200 euros ( parliamentary elections ) each candidate shall enabling its entry with a photo, a web link and appointment notices to be provided at campaign events as well as a self- formulated text for their own political work and goals on the website to publish. The profile extensions contribute to the financing of the portal.

All questions will be proofread by a team of moderators and compared with a moderation Code, which among other things libelous statements, hate speech, discrimination issues to the private life or requests that fall under the secrecy forbids. In violation of the Code, the questions will not be approved, but the politicians informed about the process. In addition, the project has committed but strictly of bipartisanship and neutrality. In addition to general information on the their deputies voting in polls has been documented that had created special attention in the media.

The page provides under http://kandidatencheck.abgeordnetenwatch.de/ a question Portal for the Bundestag election in 2013 (in collaboration with the University of Mannheim). The participant can based on 24 theses compare the political intersects with the electors in his constituency and participating in the direct candidates ( similar to the Wahl-O- Mat). It is possible either to agree with a proposition to reject it or to vote with neutral. Following is a short explanation of the responses of direct candidates are considered. After the final thesis has been answered, (without the possibility of a thesis to be weighted twice ) in order of compliance evaluated.

Structure

The Board of Trustees of Abgeordnetenwatch.de are:

• Manfred Brandt
• Angelika Gardiner

• Jürgen Kühling
• Will Fried Maier
• Sigrid Meissner

• Daniel Schily
• Frank Teichmüller
• Philipp- Christian wax

Controversies

In the election in Bremen 2007, the project kandidatenwatch.de of the Bremen SPD and the Left Party Bremer was boycotted because candidates were not excluded by the NPD. Candidate Watch- Head Hack Mack pointed out that the moderation of conduct of the project, among other things prohibits the mocking of victims of racism and tyranny. On abgeordnetenwatch.de all eligible direct candidates are listed and can be questioned.

In September 2009, the federal Green candidate Hubertus Grass announced its participation in the project, as the NPD would be given an additional opportunity to disseminate racist and revanchist ideas. He stated that he " would in any way with this party (NPD ) and their representatives elsewhere appear on a Web page yet ", referring to contributions of the NPD chairman Udo Voigt Federal. The co-founder of the portal Gregor Hack Mack assured that the contributions of Voigt would be reviewed and pointed out that in the past several times NPD representatives were excluded from the platform for abuse.

In August 2009, the SPD deputy Sebastian Edathy criticized the requirement of abgeordnetenwatch.de 200 euros for an extension of the profiles of MPs during the election campaign and warned of a commercialization of the platform. In April 2010, warned Peter Hauk, CDU parliamentary leader in Baden- Württemberg, the deputies of his party before participating in abgeordnetenwatch.de and before answering there questions asked. Hauk criticized the approach and the " supposed" transparency of the offer as "very questionable "; also be information about himself " largely false." The operators of the site disagreed with the criticism.

In August 2010 abgeordnetenwatch.de criticized the SPD politician Peer Steinbrück that it related high income from secondary activities, while on the other hand, according to research by the Internet platform that takes its also paid work only sometimes as a member of parliament. Steinbrück described subsequently in the television show Beckmann abgeordnetenwatch.de as a " commercial platform " and as a "commercial [n ] piles." He would not use this platform as it would deserve by advertising revenue money and every citizen could, however, write it for free (but without the possibility of public discussion). His claim does not comply, according to the platform with the facts.

Member of Parliament from different parties boycott abgeordnetenwatch.de stating different reasons such as the abuse by lobby groups, anonymity of the questioners and the role of the platform as a " self-appointed mediator " between citizens and politics.