What do the parties in North Rhine-Westphalia say on democracy and the state?

The AfD wants to expand direct democracy along Swiss lines and sharply lower the signature thresholds in NRW. It argues that the state has not held a single referendum since 1950.

The AfD wants more votes by the people. Fewer signatures should be needed for this. NRW has had no referendum since 1950. The party says the hurdles are too high.

The AfD wants to cut the state parliament from the current 199 members to 129 and make its work more visible to the public. This includes an online video library of sessions and regular questioning of the government.

The AfD wants fewer members in the state parliament. There should be 129 instead of 199. All sessions should be online as videos. The government should answer questions in parliament regularly.

The AfD wants contacts between lobbyists and lawmakers or members of the government disclosed in a public register. It also rejects special councils such as a climate citizens' council, which it believes weaken elected institutions.

The AfD wants a lobby register for NRW. It shows which interest groups talk to politicians. That way everyone can see their influence better. The party rejects special councils such as a climate citizens' council.

The AfD wants NRW to hand no further powers to the federal government or the EU. It invokes the principle of subsidiarity, under which decisions should be made at the lowest level able to handle them.

NRW should not give more tasks to the federal government or the EU. The AfD wants decisions made as locally as possible. There, citizens can have a say more easily. This is called subsidiarity.

The AfD wants members of the state government to swear once again to serve the welfare of the German people. It also rejects voting rights for non-Germans and wants to sharply restrict lawmakers' outside employment.

Ministers should again swear an oath to the German people. That was the rule in NRW until 2016. Only Germans should be allowed to vote. Lawmakers should not be allowed to take new side jobs.

The AfD wants a law forbidding the Verfassungsschutz (domestic intelligence agency) in NRW from monitoring political parties. In its view, the agency is increasingly used to hamper the opposition and protect the government.

The Verfassungsschutz is a domestic intelligence agency. The AfD wants to forbid it from watching political parties. An exception should need a ruling by the Federal Constitutional Court. The party says the agency harms the opposition.

The CDU wants to carry out the recommendations of a parliamentary study commission it initiated on the further development of democracy. The aim is for more people to take part and get involved in political life.

A commission made proposals for democracy. The CDU wants to put these proposals into practice. More people should be able to take part in politics. Many people should support democracy.

The CDU wants to give courts and prosecutors' offices more staff and continue digitizing the justice system. Existing court locations are to be kept. According to the platform, the justice system can only do its job with adequate staffing and equipment.

The CDU wants more staff for courts and prosecutors. The justice system should work more digitally. All courts should stay where they are. This should help the justice system do its work well.

The CDU wants to write volunteering into the state constitution as a state objective. This comes with new meeting places, funding programs and “engagement checks” for clubs and associations. The platform calls volunteer community life the foundation of society.

Many people help for free in clubs and associations. The CDU wants to put volunteering into the state constitution. There should be more meeting places, such as clubhouses. Clubs should get money to attract new members. Volunteering should also play a role in schools.

The CDU wants to merge four existing laws into a single municipal constitution and review the tasks municipalities perform. It also wants to expand cooperation between municipalities and make it legally easier.

Today several laws apply to towns, districts and regional bodies. The CDU wants to turn them into one law. It wants to check which tasks towns should have. Towns should also be able to work together more.

The CDU wants to strengthen allowances for special burdens in the public service and protect overtime from expiring. For new recruits, it aims for higher starting pay in the lower career groups and wants to examine a shorter probation period for those with good grades.

The CDU wants to pay civil servants more when their work is especially hard. Overtime should not be lost. Young civil servants should earn more at the start. With good grades, the trial period may become shorter.

The CDU wants to develop a long-term strategy with employers and unions for training, recruiting and qualifying public service staff. It includes better compatibility of family and work, a job bicycle and targeted outreach to young people with an immigrant background.

Many state workers will retire soon. So the CDU wants to win new staff. Family and work should fit together better. Young people from immigrant families should also be invited to apply.

The CDU pursues a two-part strategy: promoting political participation and fighting extremism. It wants more civic education in schools, more money for providers outside schools and an action plan for youth participation.

The CDU wants to strengthen democracy. Schools should teach more about politics. Young people should have more of a say. There should be more money for trips to memorial sites.

The CDU supports initiatives for a mandatory period of service to society. It would apply to young men and women after they finish school.

The CDU is in favor of required service for young people. It would start after school. It applies to men and women. People could also do it outside the military.

The FDP wants to substantially roll back the restrictions on so-called silent holidays. Leaving a church is to become possible digitally and free of charge.

On some holidays, dance events are banned. The FDP wants to loosen this ban a lot. People who leave the church should be able to do it online. Leaving should no longer cost money.

The FDP wants 16-year-olds to vote in state elections and to be able to run in local elections. It argues that young people already bear responsibility, work and pay taxes. Children and teenagers are also to get binding participation rights in municipalities and at state level.

The FDP wants to lower the voting age. At 16, people should be allowed to vote for the state parliament. At 16, they should also be able to run for the city council. Children and teenagers should have more say in their town.

The FDP wants a review of whether state structures meet today's demands and will propose a cross-party commission at the state parliament. The goal is a comprehensive modernization of public administration. This includes reallocating responsibilities among the state, district governments, counties and municipalities.

The FDP wants to review how the state works. A group from all parties should do this in the state parliament. It should check whether offices work well and in a modern way. After that, tasks should be divided up anew.

The FDP wants to cut the number of districts in state elections from 127 to 90 or 91. This is meant to make overhang and compensatory seats less likely and keep parliament workable.

The FDP wants fewer election districts for state elections. Instead of 127, there should be only 90 or 91. That way the state parliament does not grow too large. The new parliament should deal with this soon.

The FDP wants a waiting period before members of parliament, state secretaries and ministers can become judges on the state constitutional court. This is meant to safeguard judicial independence and the separation of powers.

Politicians should not become constitutional judges right away. The FDP wants a waiting period for this. Judges should not rule on matters they were involved in themselves. This keeps courts independent.

The FDP wants to give the justice system more staff, renovate its buildings, and continue the federal-state Pakt für den Rechtsstaat (pact for the rule of law) for this purpose. Jobs in the justice system are to become more attractive through better pay, and legal trainees are to be civil servants again.

The FDP wants more staff for courts and prosecutors. Justice buildings should be renovated. Pay should get better. That way more young people should want to work in the justice system.

The FDP wants to cut the length of criminal and civil proceedings substantially by equipping the justice system better. For young offenders in particular, punishment is to follow quickly after the offense. In prisons, more treatment is meant to lower reoffending rates.

Court cases should go faster. The FDP finds this especially important for young people. They should see the link between crime and punishment. Prisons should offer more help to stop reoffending.

English should become a second administrative language in the state's public agencies. The FDP wants this to make the state more attractive for founders and for internationally active companies.

The FDP wants government offices to use English as well. This should help people and companies from abroad. They should be able to deal with offices more easily. This way more companies should come to North Rhine-Westphalia.

The FDP wants to reform pay and service law in the public sector and tie advancement more closely to performance. Moving between public administration and the private sector should become easier in both directions.

The FDP wants to change the rules for government employees. People who do good work should move up faster and earn more. Switching between a government job and a company should be easier. Employees should also be able to do internships in companies.

The FDP wants to make volunteer work on city and county councils more flexible and digital. Digital meetings are to be possible in certain cases, but in-person meetings remain the norm.

Many people serve on city councils as volunteers. The FDP wants to make this work easier. Some meetings should be allowed online. Meetings should end on time and start at suitable hours.

The FDP wants to introduce a two-vote system for local elections. Mayors and county executives are to be elected by ranked-choice voting with a built-in runoff in order to strengthen their legitimacy.

In elections for city and county councils, everyone should have two votes. That is already the case in federal elections. When electing mayors, voters should rank the candidates. Then no second election is needed.

The Greens want to convene citizens' assemblies on selected future issues and strengthen direct democracy in the state constitution. Petitions for referendums and initiatives should need fewer signatures and be possible on more topics. The platform argues that participation improves decisions.

The Greens want to set up citizens' assemblies. There, randomly chosen people discuss a question. The state parliament must debate their proposals. Referendum petitions should also get easier. They would need fewer signatures.

The Greens want a law on assemblies that makes demonstrations easier and protects them. They reject expanded powers for video recording, and some criminal offenses such as the ban on face coverings are to become administrative offenses.

The Greens want to make demonstrations easier. Everyone should be able to register a protest simply. Police should not film more than federal law allows. Covering your face should no longer be a crime. It should only lead to a fine.

The Greens want to lower the voting age for state elections to 16 and later consider lowering it further. A mandatory youth check for legislation and binding youth representation in municipalities are meant to secure young people's say.

The Greens want young people to vote in state elections from age 16. New laws should be checked: what do they mean for young people? Every town should have a body that speaks for young people. Children should have a say in daycare and school.

The Greens want to give civic engagement more weight in government policy and secure long-term support for associations and clubs. Voluntary service is to be expanded, and volunteers are to get discounts like those for school and university students.

Many people help for free in clubs or the fire brigade. The Greens want to support them better. Clubs should get reliable funding. More young people should be able to do a voluntary year. They should pay less for buses, trains and culture.

The Greens want to make work in city and town councils easier so that more people from different backgrounds take part. This includes digital meetings, more paid staff support for council groups and new advisory boards.

Many people serve on the town council as volunteers. This takes a lot of time. The Greens want to make it easier. Meetings should also be possible online. Council groups should get more paid helpers. There should be advisory boards for young people, seniors and immigrants.

The Greens want to improve working conditions in public service in order to fill vacancies. The core is a lifetime working-time account, along with remote work, more equality for women and protection of staff from violence.

The state lacks many employees. The Greens want to make these jobs more attractive. Staff should be able to save up working time. They can then retire earlier or take time off. Women should have equal chances at top jobs.

The Greens want to introduce a binding lobby register for the state parliament and state government as well as a "legislative footprint." Lawmakers are to disclose outside income in full, and whistleblowers are to be better protected.

The Greens want to show who influences laws. For this, there should be a public lobby register. Lawmakers should report all outside income. They may not do paid work for lobby groups. People who report wrongdoing should be protected.

The Greens want public authorities to reflect society's diversity and be equally accessible to everyone. Binding targets, mandatory training and more multilingual services are meant to achieve this.

The Greens want public offices to be as diverse as society. There should be fixed targets for this. Staff should take training on human rights and against discrimination. Offices, police and emergency services should offer more languages.

The Greens want to keep cooperating with the churches while making the state more neutral on matters of belief. This includes a relaxed public holiday law, an end to the fee for leaving the church and the redemption of historical state payments to the churches.

The Greens want to keep working with the churches. But the state should be neutral. People who leave the church should no longer pay a fee. Dancing and culture should be allowed on quiet holidays if they do not disturb. The state should end old payments to the churches.

The Greens want people with little money to be better informed about legal aid. Courses taught by judges and prosecutors would explain rights and duties under the rule of law. Justice system employees would receive training on diversity issues.

Everyone should be able to get their rights easily. People with little money should learn more about legal aid. Judges should explain the legal system in courses. Court staff should learn not to treat anyone unfairly.

The Greens want stronger, permanent funding for initiatives and counseling services against right-wing extremism, racism, and antisemitism. Security agencies would get better analytical tools and quickly enforce outstanding arrest warrants against right-wing extremists. The platform sees right-wing extremism as the greatest danger to society.

The Greens want to do more against far-right extremism. Small groups should get money for this easily. Counseling services should get more money for the long term. Police should quickly arrest wanted far-right extremists.

The SPD wants to involve children and young people more in political decisions and implement a statewide strategy for this together with youth associations. Proposed laws would in the future be checked for their effects on young people. The state's children and youth funding plan is to receive more money.

Children and young people should have a say in politics. The SPD wants a firm plan for the state to make this happen. New laws should be checked for what they mean for young people. Youth work should get more money.

The SPD wants to work with the federal government to speed up administrative, planning, and approval procedures so that private and public investments can be carried out faster. Its stated goal is to cut the length of procedures at least in half. Authorities would get more staff for this, especially at the municipal level.

Permits for building projects often take a long time. The SPD wants to cut that time at least in half. This should make investments happen faster. Public offices would get more staff for this.

The SPD wants to gradually reduce the weekly working hours of state civil servants until they match those of employees covered by collective agreements. The aim is to make public service more attractive, since the platform says almost 18,000 state positions are vacant.

Civil servants in NRW should work fewer hours. They should work as long as staff with a union contract. This should happen step by step. The SPD wants more people to choose a state job.

The SPD wants to improve pay and working conditions in state employment. This includes a subsidy for civil servants who choose public health insurance, ending the Kostendämpfungspauschale (a cost-sharing charge), equal pay for teachers, and no more fixed-term contracts without objective reason.

The SPD wants to make state jobs better. Civil servants should be able to pick public health insurance. The state would then pay part of the cost. Teachers should get equal pay. Contracts should no longer be limited in time without a reason.

The SPD wants to act against right-wing extremism and rules out any cooperation with far-right forces. Pro-democracy initiatives would get permanent rather than project-based funding through democracy promotion laws at the federal and state level.

The SPD wants to fight right-wing extremism. It will not work with far-right groups. Groups that stand up for democracy should get lasting funding. A yearly report should show how much racism and hatred of Jews there is.

The SPD is seeking a broad reform of election law in NRW. Young people would vote in state elections from age 16, people from non-EU countries could vote in local elections, and a parity law would ensure equal representation in parliaments.

The SPD wants to change voting rules. Young people should vote for the state parliament at age 16. Foreigners from countries outside the EU should vote in their city. Parliaments should have as many women as men.

The SPD wants to convene citizens' assemblies on specific questions at the state level and later pass a citizen participation law. Municipalities would be required to involve children and young people, and student representative bodies would be allowed to speak on all political issues.

The SPD wants citizens' assemblies in the state. There, citizens discuss one specific question. Later there should be a law on citizen participation. Towns and cities must let children and young people have a say. Student bodies should be able to speak on all topics.

The SPD wants to introduce a lobby register and a legislative footprint. The aim is to make it easier to see how political decisions come about.

The SPD wants a lobby register. It lists who tries to influence politics. There would also be a legislative footprint. It shows who took part in writing a law. This should make politics easier to follow.

The SPD wants to give volunteer work stronger structural support and rebuild structures lost during the COVID-19 pandemic. Unpaid service in local politics should also become more attractive, for example through family-friendly or digital meetings.

Many people in NRW volunteer in clubs. The SPD wants to support this work better. Clubs should be rebuilt after COVID. Unpaid work on the town council should also get easier. For example, meetings could be held online.

The SPD wants to critically review the security laws of recent years and replace the state's current assembly law with a "freedom of assembly law." The review is to establish which intrusions on fundamental rights were actually necessary and proportionate.

The SPD wants to check the security laws of recent years. It asks which limits on basic rights were really needed. The law on demonstrations should be replaced. The new law should be called a freedom of assembly law.

The SPD wants the justice ministry to refrain from influencing performance evaluations of judges and to step back markedly from individual investigations. It also wants the state to launch legal policy debates at the federal level, for example on corporate criminal law and decriminalizing petty offenses.

The SPD wants to show more trust in the courts. The ministry should interfere less in investigations. It should not influence how judges are rated. The SPD wants to start new debates on criminal law. For example, minor offenses should no longer be crimes.

The SPD wants positions in the justice system to be actually filled and working conditions improved. Fixed-term contracts are to be reduced, fixed-term contracts without objective grounds abolished, and pay raised. Legal education is also to be changed.

The SPD wants more staff in the justice system. There should be fewer fixed-term jobs. Fixed-term means the contract ends after a set time. Staff should be paid better. Law school should also change.

The SPD regards equal access to justice as a basic public service and wants easily reachable legal advice across the state, including in rural areas. The justice system is to become more digital, out-of-court dispute resolution is to come first, and enforcement of rulings is to be faster.

Everyone should easily get advice on legal questions. This should apply across the state, including in villages. Disputes should be solved without a court where possible. Courts should work more with computers. Rulings should be enforced faster.