Here is something a little different on the political system of the Free Socialist Republic of Germany, which hasn't been publicly explained until now:
(the following is from the
page on the FSRD on our lore wiki)
"Germany functions as a federal socialist republic organized under the principles of soviet or council democracy, known in German as the
Rätesystem (council system). This system begins at the lowest level, starting with
Gemeinden (municipalities), whose adult population elects a
Gemeinderat (municipal council). Some places, typically large cities and towns, are divided into
Gemeindebezirke (municipal districts), which function electorally the same as
Gemeinden but have the intended purpose of containing populations more comparable to the rural
Gemeinden. These elections are held directly through secret ballots with universal suffrage for citizens 18 years and older (16 and 17 year old workers may still vote for their workplace council), and are heavily influenced by the local workers, peasants and soldiers councils, which are also closely involved with the
Gemeinderat post-election. Larger regional and national agglomerations of these workers councils also influence decision making at the higher levels, and most members of all levels of the councils are a member of these workers councils.
The
Gemeinderäte in turn elect a
Kreisrat (county council) for their respective
Kreis (county). The size of each
Gemeinden varies, but there are usually thousands of delegates that participate in the election of a
Kreisrat. The
Kreisräte in turn elect a
Bezirksrat (district council) for their respective
Bezirk (district). This is one of the largest processes, where often tens of thousands of delegates in total from each Kreisrat participate. The
Bezirksräte in turn elect a
Länderrat (state council) for their respective
Land (state), as well as delegates to the
Congress of Workers' and Soldiers' Councils, and to the
Congress of Ministers, while both jointly exercise control over the legislative power. The electoral process lasts a total of 7 days, always beginning on a Sunday and ending the following Saturday. All representatives within this system at all levels can be removed through a recall vote at any time from either the council that elected them or the population that elected them in the case of the
Gemeinderäte. Movements for recall votes are generally organized by the workers councils. In other words, representatives operate under an imperative mandate where they are bound by the will of those who elected them. As a result, the composition of the councils can change before national elections are held every three years.
Legally, there is no head of state or head of government, with both positions being filled by a collective head of state known as the People's Council which leads the Congress of Ministers. In practice, however, the Chairperson of the council functions as head of state, while the Deputy Chairperson functions as head of government. Other members of the council play an influential advisory role, and also have voting powers in the congress. The current Chairperson is revolutionary leader
Rosa Luxemburg, while the current Deputy Chairperson is socialist politician
Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD).
There are three main legal political organizations: the communist
Communist Party of Germany (KPD), the socialist
United Social Democratic Party of Germany (VSPD), and the anarchist
Free Worker's Union of Germany (FAUD). Some smaller non-left wing organizations are permitted, and their members often run as independent candidates in council elections. Major opposition parties are banned, ostensibly because they operate in and support the hostile capitalist countries of Baden-Württemberg and the Rhenish Republic."
This system is heavily involved in the gameplay of the FSRD in a number of ways, with the following event as an example: