A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Democracy – Is Reform Needed in the Bundestag?

Following the last legislative period, more than 150 Members of the Bundestag voluntarily decided to step down from their mandates. Their departure not only represents a significant loss of parliamentary experience but also exposes structural challenges in how the Bundestag functions. A study conducted by the Bertelsmann Foundation highlights that former parliamentarians face high personal workloads, inefficient processes, insufficient digitalization, difficulties balancing family life with their parliamentary duties, and an increasingly harsh political debate culture.

We are very pleased to welcome former Members of the Bundestag Renate Künast (Alliance 90/The Greens) and Marco Wanderwitz (CDU) on Tuesday, 24 March 2026, at 5:30 PM at the Schwarzkopf Foundation Young Europe to discuss these issues. Together with our guests, we will explore what aspects of parliamentary work have functioned well and which have been less effective, the structural challenges that exist, the factors that promote constructive collaboration and those that impede it, how political culture is perceived within the Bundestag, and what approaches might be used to improve it sustainably. We will also discuss what reforms the Bundestag needs and how these reforms can be achieved.

We warmly invite you to participate and kindly ask that you register by 23 March 2026. The Bertelsmann Foundation conducted in-depth interviews with 30 recently departed Members of Parliament for the study “Workplace Bundestag: Reform Needs in the Engine Room of Democracy.” Both Renate Künast and Marco Wanderwitz were among the interviewees. The interviews provide a rare and candid insight behind the scenes of the parliament and the challenges faced by Members of the Bundestag. The study can be accessed here.