Parliamentary Cultures : British and German Perspectives
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CONTENTS EDITOR'S PREFACE ....................................................................... 10 WELCOME ................................................................................................. 13 Adam Ladbury, British Council ................................................................. 13 Professor JÜfgen Sch1aeger, Centre for British Studies, Humbo1dt University .................................................................................. 14 Sir Pau1 Lever, British Ambassador in Germany ....................................... 15 KEYNOTE SPEECHES ..................................................................... 17 The Constitutiona1 Revolution in Britain since May 1997 The Lord Chancellor The Rt Hon the Lord Irvine of Lairg ................... 17 The Bundestag in the Reichstag: Reflections on Par1iamentary Work in Berlin in the 21 sI Century Rudo1f Seiters MdB, Viee-President ofthe German Bundestag ............ 27 Diseussion ................................................................................................... 41 SESSION I PARLIAMENTS IN BRITAIN AND GERMANY: THE CULTURES OF PARLIAMENTS AND THE CHALLENGES OF MODERNISATION ...... 52 The Modemisation ofParliament: Themes and Challenges Clive Soley MP, Chair Parliamentary Labour Party and Chair Modemisation ofthe House ofCommons Seleet Committee ................ 53 Diseussion ................................................................................................... 63 6 The Modemisation of ParIiament: Themes and Challenges Hans-Ulrich Klose MdB, Chairman ofthe Committee of Foreign Affairs ofthe German Bundestag ............................................. 72 Discussion ................................................................................................... 83 SESSION II WHAT ARE PARLIAMENTS FOR TODA Y? ...................................... 90 Parliaments in the Modem W orId: What are they for? Professor Anthony King, University of Essex ....................................... 90 The German Bundestag: What is it for? Professor Peter Lösche, University of Göttingen ................................... 97 Panel Discussion: Modemising from Within - Challenging from Without Professor Gert-Joachim Glaeßner, Humboldt University (Chair) Professor Anthony King, University of Essex Hans-Ulrich Klose MdB, German Bundestag Professor Peter Lösche, University of Göttingen Clive Soley MP ..................................................................................... 105 SESSION III WHAT ARE MPS FOR? ................................................................ 118 From the Govemment to the Backbenches: Reflections of a former Conservative Minister Tim Boswell MP ................................................................................... 118 What a Backbencher can do Ben Bradshaw MP ................................................................................ 123 Panel Discussion: Do we really need Members of Parliament? Hans-Ulrich Klose MdB (chair) Carsten Schneider MdB, German Bundestag Nils Diederich, Free University Berlin Tim Boswell MP Ben Bradshaw MP ................................................................................ 129 SESSION IV THE POWER OF THE MEDIA ........................................................ 153 Round Table Discussion Chair: The Rt Hon The Baroness Williams of Crosby House ofLords ..................................................................................... 155 The Lobby (Political Reporters) and Politics in Britain: Who controls Whom? Adam Boulton, Political Editor, Sky TV, London ............................... 156 Radio Interviews and the Citizen Ed Stourton, Correspondent, BBC, London ......................................... 162 Reporting Politics on ARD Hauptstadtstudio Robin Lautenbach, ARD Hauptstadtstudio .......................................... 166 New Media, New Democracy Tristana Moore, Channel Four, ITN ..................................................... 171 Political Reporting in the German Press Jürgen Hogrefe, Der Spiegel ................................................................ 173 SESSION V PARLIAMENTS IN EUROPE: THE CULTURE OF CHANGE............. 178 Federalism after German Reunification Christine Lieberknecht MdL, President of the Landtag of Thuringia ............................................................................ 179 Discussion ................................................................................................. 188 The Scottish Parliament: in Scotland, in Britain and in Europe Jim Wallace QC, Member ofthe Scottish Parliarnent, Deputy First Minister and Minister for Justice .................................... 195 Discussion ................................................................................................. 201 Poland and Europe: Potential Impact of Accession Urszula Pallasz, Deputy Head ofMission, Embassy of the Republic of Poland ..................................................................... 208 Discussion ................................................................................................. 213 8 SESSION VI THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT .................................................... 217 Panel Discussion Dr Anthony G1ees, Brunel University (Chair) Timothy Kirkhope MEP, Brussels Peter Kittelmann MdA, Berlin Dr Roger Scully, University of Wales at Aberystwith ......................... 217 SUMMING-UP BY THE CONVENERS Professor Gert-Joachim Glaeßner, Humboldt University Dr. Anthony Glees, Brunel University ................................................. 244 CLOSING REMARKS Adam Ladbury, British Council ........................................................... 247 CONTRIBUTORS .......................................................................... 249 .