German lawmakers approve plan to shrink bloated parliament

By GEIR MOULSON
Associated Press

BERLIN (AP) — Lawmakers in Germany have agreed to reduce the size of the country’s increasingly bloated parliament. Parliament’s lower house, or Bundestag, currently has a record 736 members. The plan approved Friday on a 400-261 vote with 23 abstentions envisions reducing that number to 630. Two opposition parties were vehemently critical, and a court challenge is expected. Other proposals to alter the German election system failed in recent years because of the difficulty of reconciling parties’ interests. Germany’s next national election is expected in the fall of 2025. Germany has a complicated process for electing lawmakers. Each voter gets two votes: one for a directly elected candidate, the other for a party list.