Weaknesses of the Weimar Republic

• There were 29 parties in total during the 1920s
• Often no single party had a clear majority
• The only way that governments could be formed was for several parties to join together as coalitions
• Coalition partners had to compromise, often resulting in a lack of clear strong policies.
• Coalitions frequently argued and fell apart. There were nine coalitions goverments between 1919 and 1923
• The lack of strong, single-party governments was a particular problem during a crisis, when swift, clear decisions were needed
• By 1930, the chancellor regularly relied upon the president to pass laws instead of relying on votes from the Reichstag.
• the councillor relying on the president instead made the constitution look like a single powerful leader was better than an elected parliament.
• Even though the fact that the president was relied on to pass laws gave the president ultimate power there was a sense that the weimer republic was not really the choice of the people.
• What is an Example of Weimar Republic not being the choice of the people?

  during the German revolutio, the government had used force. They relied on the army to subdue public riots in Berlin and went off the meet Weimar.