Politics and Economics in the Weimar Republic

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Politics and Economics in the Weimar Republic

Statement:

Was a firm political and economic foundation established for the long

term survival of democracy or whether the events justify the view that

the Weimar was a ’republic without republicans’.

After 1923 politics became more peaceful. There were no attempted

coups from right or left between 1924 and 1929 and also there were no

assassinations of major political figures. Extremist parties though

was still on the streets, there was frequent fights between the SA and

the red fighting league, over 50 people were killed. Elections also

gave support to the Republic, as the economic situation stabilised in

1924, so Germans switched back to voting for the main democratic

parties.

But the sense of stability was reduced by the fact that there was six

Weimar governments between 1924 and 1929, each one a short lived

coalition and most didn’t have a secure majority in the Reichstag and

no chancellor was able to hold a government together for more than two

years.

Another cause of public displeasure with politicians was the voting

system, Voters, in 35 electoral regions, voted for a party list rather

than individual politicians. It was therefore the party machine that

decided who actually became a Reichstag deputy, on the basis of the

number of votes the party list had won. The voters didn’t choose their

deputy. The prospects for a stable government were further reduced

during this period of growth of sectional interest parties which

gained a total of 78 deputies at their peak in 1930. Sectional groups

were encouraged by the proportional representation system cos only 60k

votes were needed to get a representation in the Reichstag. Their

support for narrow interests reduced the chances of the broader

compromises required for successful democratic government.

Weimar lacked a leader to deepen people’s support, it was served by

able politicians like Streseman but no body built up a dynamic support

for the government. That was a big thing it was missing cos people

looked up to charismatic and inspiring people.

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