Debates cycle of Parliament's School of the Municipality of São Paulo - Foundation Office Brazil
Event Reports
The number of political parties in Brazil – currently 32 are registered in the TSE (Supreme Electoral Tribunal) - was criticized during this eighth Debate Series on Political Reform, which discussed the electoral experiences in Germany and Italy. The event was held on Monday, June 1st, and sponsored by the School of Parliament City Hall.
"The number is alarming, if we look not only to Germany but also to the United States, where you have only two parties. And it is possible to make a comparison with Brazil on account of territorial size. The US system works in a much more economical way; the number of parties in Brazil hinders the political process, "said Friedrich Christian Matthäus, political advisor of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Brazil.
The Italian deputy Fabio Porta argued that while the plurality of political parties is generally positive, however, the parliamentary system works best with few parties. "An entry barrier is very important, because 27 or 30 parties in Congress ends up being too much," said Porta.
The MP also explained how the system works in Italy. "There is a 4% barrier to enter parliament and we just pass a law reducing it to 3%, which I consider appropriate. In general we talk about a 5%, 4% or 3% barrier, but anything below this is really bad because unrepresentative parties end up electing deputies or senators who are seen hostage to other situations," he said.
In Germany, there are only four parties in parliament. According to Christian Matthäus, it greatly stabilizes the system. "We do not see a political party change frequently; there are only very rare cases. This is due to the 5% (vote) required for a party to enter parliament, "Matthäus reported, citing the example of a traditional German party.
"For the first time in the history of the democratic history, the 'Liberal' party, that has always been part of parliament for the first time, left the parliament after securing 4.8% in the 2013 elections," he said .
Porta reported that the Italian Constitution does not have locks regarding party loyalty, since the mandate belongs to the individual – not the party – who is elected,. On the other hand, consider the fact that switching parties is not well seen by the Italian society.
"There is always a rejection of the electorate with regard to this kind of attitude, then it is not advisable because it can cripple even the re-election of the politician" he explained.
Campaign Finance
Last week, the Brazilian Congress approved an amendment that proposes private financing only to political parties, something similar to what already happens in Germany. "The funding of parties is a very tricky thing in Germany, where parties receive public funds but private funding is also allowed, but only to the parties," Matthäus clarified.
In Italy, public funding corresponds with the number of votes the parties, but currently the issue is discusses because there is a popular clamor for an end to public funding.
"We are discussing this (public funding), but it introduces other types of problems, staring from the involvement of investors and private companies, to finance and direct the mandate of the Member or the political party," said Porta.
