For the Bundestag, dialogue between its members and their citizens is vital

For many people, politicians are the great unknowns. It is a common perception that members of the Bundestag live in a political bubble in Berlin, which they may leave every now and then, to hold surgeries in their constituency offices. Many people do not even know that these sessions exist.

For 180 people randomly drawn from municipal registration registers, the impression of "them up there, us down here" has changed fundamentally. They had the opportunity to meet members of parliament from various political parties in their constituencies and spent the day discussing their visions for a better relationship between the general population and politics. Across all constituencies, the main focus was on one topic: How can we, the voters, be better heard and have a say in decisions?

This meeting was made possible by the "Hallo Bundestag" project designed by the civil society Think-and-do tank "Es geht LOS”, which translates to “Here we GO”. The project team initiated several constituency days in six constituencies, following the example of local and national citizens' councils, to explore the possibilities of citizens' participation in Schleswig-Flensburg, Hagen-Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis I, Erfurt-Weimar-Weimarer-Land II, Roth in Franconia, and the two Berlin constituencies of Steglitz-Zehlendorf and Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg-Prenzlauer-Berg-Ost.

For members of the Bundestag such as the CDU politician Thomas Heilmann, who represents the Steglitz-Zehlendorf constituency in Berlin, event formats like these constituency days are an “aha experience”: "If a call were put out for people to participate, it would be mainly those citizens who are already actively involved who would come forward. But because this selection process is random, we get to meet with representatives of a silent majority of the population, of whom I otherwise hear little and know little, and some of whom are presumably non-voters." Members of the Bundestag are called upon to receive feedback from their constituents; after all, they are supposed to vote in the Bundestag on laws that directly affect the population.

Timo Schisanowski, SPD member of the Bundestag from the constituency Hagen-Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis I, adds: "We politicians are not an anonymous crowd. And, of course, we are very interested in strengthening democracy." He is firmly convinced that this can be achieved with a format like the constituency days: "The participants have given up their free time to take part. You wouldn’t do that if democracy and society don’t mean anything to you. So, 'Hello Bundestag' has obviously struck a nerve."

Unlike the existing local or nationwide citizens' councils, "Hello Bundestag" uses the so-called outreach lottery procedure - literally. "If citizens selected at random do not respond to the invitation letter or to a second reminder letter, we follow up personally and visit them at home,” says project manager Dr. Linus Strothmann, explaining the procedure. The personal encounters, he says, are usually very interesting and pleasant. “Even the people we couldn’t convince to participate in the end were still interested in the format and the topic”, Strothmann reports. Reasons for non-participation were mostly lack of available time due to work and family obligations.

As planned, the first of the constituency days were held in the spring of 2023, and will be followed up by the next round this autumn. The third and final round will take place in the spring of 2024. A new sample of citizens are randomly selected for each round. The project is supported, among others, by the Robert Bosch Stiftung and the ZEIT Foundation. "Hello Bundestag" is also being scientifically accompanied and evaluated. The goal is to recommend the constituency days format to the Bundestag as a regular, institutionalised series of events.

Juliane Baruck manages the project together with Linus Strothmann and is also part of the "Es geht LOS" team. She is already convinced that constituency days can have a lasting impact: Almost all participants have subsequently signed up to form a constituency council in their home region, and want to continue to meet in an informal way in order to exchange ideas about political concerns. Among them are also quite a few young people from the age of twelve, as they, too, were and will continue to be included in the pool of residents from which participants are drawn. Juliane Baruck thinks this is not only the right thing to do, but also very important: "Young people are generally underrepresented in participation formats, because they are not yet allowed to vote. Yet they will be affected by policy decisions the longest."

Some members of the project team take over at the constituency days as mentors, providing structure to the meetings and encouraging everyone to contribute to the discussion. The participants appreciate this greatly: In this way, many of them say, they feel that they are perceived by others as equal discussion partners.

At the invitation of the project team, many participants from the constituency councils came to Berlin in mid-July to get to know each other and to network - from high school students to senior citizens. Another aim was to present the results of all the groups that had met throughout Germany on the first constituency day, which the participants had prepared on posters. Headlines such as "Connecting Politics & Schools", "Early Democracy Education", or "Voting from 16" stood out. The topic "More Focus on Ethical Issues" also attracted attention, pushing for the Ethics Council to be given a more prominent public presence.

Petra Rothmeier from Lauf, near Nuremberg, also traveled to Berlin. The former bakery owner and mother of four is 62 years old, resolute and down-to-earth, curious, and interested in the opinions of others. "I have always been a very politically interested person. But I'm not good at discussing the consequences of inflation, the energy crisis or migration policy with my friends. It quickly becomes personal," says the Franconian, who attended the constituency day in Roth.

She does not like to commit herself to a particular party, because she does not feel particularly attached to any political direction, she emphasizes. Instead, she wants to talk to as many different people as possible at eye level and, together with politicians, consider what course can be set to instigate change. "What excited me most about the event was the great respect everyone showed each other in the discussion," she highlights.

Martin Lehman from Erfurt, on the other hand, is one of those who initially hesitated to accept the invitation to the constituency day - until someone from the project team rang his doorbell. "I always put the invitation letters aside. It wasn't until I had a visit from the project team and spoke to them that I really realized: In order for democracy to be truly lived, people need to get involved," he says. The commitment of "Es geht LOS" impressed him very much, as well as the fact that the politicians in his constituenca took the time to be involved: Carsten Schneider (SPD), Antje Tillmann (CDU), Susanne Hennig-Wellsow (Left Party), and Katrin Göring-Eckardt (Greens).

For the 32-year-old network engineer, there was no question that he would continue to serve on the constituency council after the constituency day. He plans to continue his involvement, he explains, because unlike face-to-face conversations, no constructive exchange is possible on social media channels - and certainly not when it comes to polarizing political issues such as climate protection, migration, or the war in the Ukraine. "On Facebook or Instagram, there's an unbelievable amount of hating, and it's done quickly, without any respect for each other", Lehmann criticizes. "There, you don't have to let the others finish what they're saying, you can call them names with impunity and then duck away, with no consequences.'"

Sofie Lüdtke, 22 and from Schleswig, is also convinced by the concept of constituency days. "At first I thought: Let's see how much there really is to it. But it quickly became clear: We listen to each other. And also the politician present, Stefan Seidler from the Südschleswigsche Wählerverband, showed himself to be interested, humorous, and committed." Schleswig-Flensburg is also the constituency of Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Green Party). Habeck was prevented from attending due to other commitments, but wants to be present at the next constituency day in autumn. Apart from the discussions with the politicians, Lüdtke was impressed by one thing above all: “I met people with whom I normally have no contact in everyday life and learned about their concerns and worries".

For the 32-year-old network engineer, there was no question that he would continue to serve on the constituency council after the constituency day. He plans to continue his involvement, he explains, because unlike face-to-face conversations, no constructive exchange is possible on social media channels - and certainly not when it comes to polarizing political issues such as climate protection, migration, or the war in the Ukraine. "On Facebook or Instagram, there's an unbelievable amount of hating, and it's done quickly, without any respect for each other", Lehmann criticizes. "There, you don't have to let the others finish what they're saying, you can call them names with impunity and then duck away, with no consequences.'"

Sofie Lüdtke, 22 and from Schleswig, is also convinced by the concept of constituency days. "At first I thought: Let's see how much there really is to it. But it quickly became clear: We listen to each other. And also the politician present, Stefan Seidler from the Südschleswigsche Wählerverband, showed himself to be interested, humorous, and committed." Schleswig-Flensburg is also the constituency of Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Green Party). Habeck was prevented from attending due to other commitments, but wants to be present at the next constituency day in autumn. Apart from the discussions with the politicians, Lüdtke was impressed by one thing above all: “I met people with whom I normally have no contact in everyday life and learned about their concerns and worries".

According to the latest ARD Deutschlandtrend opinion poll, many issues are currently on the minds of German citizens. For example, their growing sense of unease and lack of trust in the actions of politicians. This concerns them even more than inflation, the climate crisis, or migration policy.

Consequently, the constituency councilors also chose the topics for the upcoming constituency days at the meeting in Berlin: "The State and the Individual" and "Societal Insecurities."

Project manager Dr Linus Strothmann, again, expects high engagement and good results from the upcoming discussions. "A lot can be done to combat disenchantment with politics, and at the same time to counter the influence of right-wing populism," he says, "if citizens are given the opportunity to discuss the issues that concern them with members of the Bundestag at eye level. Especially if they feel they have a consultative role in the process."