BIW on democracy and the state

The BIW wants residents to vote on whether Bremen stays a separate federal state or merges with other states. The platform points to the high cost of independence, the lack of surrounding territory, and dependence on Lower Saxony.

Bremen is its own state in Germany. The BIW wants to ask the people if it should stay that way. Bremen could also join with other states. Everyone should vote on this.

A broad public debate on the pros and cons of statehood is to come before the vote. The platform cites the cost of the Senate, the parliament, and the state administration, and the limits on economic growth and infrastructure because the city-state has no hinterland. It also notes that Bremen and Bremerhaven lie 65 kilometers apart and that many people in Bremerhaven feel closer to Lower Saxony. In the BIW's view, elites' fear of losing power and positions must not decide the matter.

The BIW wants a new head of state for Bremen who is elected directly by the people and may not belong to any party. The office is meant to counterbalance the parties and, as the platform puts it, to counter cronyism and patronage.

The BIW wants a new office: a state president. The people of Bremen elect this person directly. The president may not belong to a party. The president should keep the parties in check.

Only candidates who are not party members and have no visible party ties may run. The state president would set the pay of lawmakers and senators, choose the judges of the state constitutional court and the highest state courts, and coordinate referendums. As head of the election offices, the president would be responsible for properly run elections. Oversight of the state domestic intelligence office would move from the interior senator to the president, as would representing Bremen externally.

The BIW wants to cut the state parliament to 50 seats to save money. At the same time, parliament is to get more control over the Senate, Bremen's government.

The Bürgerschaft is Bremen's parliament. The BIW wants only 50 lawmakers there. This should save money. But parliament should watch the government more closely.

The platform says no other state has as many lawmakers per resident as Bremen. Even with 50 seats, it says, the ratio would still be higher than in Hamburg and Berlin. The BIW puts the savings at several million euros per legislative term. In the future, the Senate's initiatives in the Bundesrat (the federal chamber of the states) would need approval by a simple majority in parliament before being introduced.

The BIW wants to bar lawmakers from paid outside work and restructure their compensation. The taxpayer-funded pension is to be dropped. The stated aim is more independence and less influence for lobbyists and parties.

Lawmakers should no longer have paid side jobs. The BIW also wants to change how they are paid. Lawmakers should save for old age themselves. Public jobs should go only to skilled people.

The current full salary model would be replaced by compensation: a uniform base allowance plus a capped, individually calculated supplement that partly makes up for income lost by taking the seat. The entitlement to a parliamentary pension would end; lawmakers and Senate members would provide for retirement privately. In addition, senior posts in the judiciary, the administration, and public companies are to be filled on merit alone, not party membership.

The BIW wants to involve residents more in local decisions and set up a municipal suggestion system. District councils are to get more powers, citizen service offices more staff, and the administration more online services.

People should have more say locally. They should be able to report problems and send in ideas. Citizen service offices should get more staff. People should be able to file many requests online.

The plan includes town meetings and citizen workshops as well as a suggestion system in both cities. District councils in Bremen would gain powers, while their number, now 22, would fall through mergers, which the platform says saves money. More staff in citizen service offices is meant to cut waiting times. Administrative errands should be handled online wherever possible; the platform calls this an electronic city hall.