‘Stroke of Genius’ or ‘Attack on Democracy’? The 2023 Reform of the German Electoral System

Under the Traffic Light Coalition government formed in 2021 by the SPD, Alliance 90/ The Greens and the FDP, the electoral system for the German Bundestag was changed in 2023 for the fourth time since 2011. This article analyses the process and the outcome of this electoral system reform. On the one hand, the reform proposed by the Traffic Light Coalition appears more convincing in conceptual and technical terms than the corresponding attempts made by previous federal governments. On the other hand, the emergence of ‘vacant’ constituencies also has significant side effects that undermine the reform’s political acceptance. Given that the new federal government formed in 2025 and led by the CDU/CSU wants to reverse the 2023 reform, the institutional stability of the electoral system required for are presentative democracy remains at risk.