No state-wide citizens' assemblies in Brandenburg

04. December 2025

There will be no state-wide citizens' assemblies in the German state of Brandenburg for the time being. An initiative by State Parliament President Ulrike Liedtke (SPD) to this end failed due to opposition from the ranks of the Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW).

According to a report in the Märkische Allgemeine Zeitung (MAZ), critics of citizens' assemblies in the BSW were unfamiliar with the concept proposed by the president of the state parliament and found it unconvincing. The selection of the citizens' assembly was to be carried out by an agency and based on a stratified random sampling procedure with a composition of the mini-public according to criteria such as age, gender and education.

Selection process criticised

This did not make sense to the MPs. They criticised the selection process, saying it was not transparent. According to Frank Peschel, parliamentary secretary of the BSW parliamentary group, there are voices within the group who would like to see selection based on a completely random principle. A broad spectrum of the population should be represented.

Peschel is in favour of mini-publics and regrets the decision. ‘I was in favour of setting up citizens' assemblies, but there was no majority in the parliamentary group,’ he told the MAZ. However, he said the vote in his parliamentary group had to be accepted. Peschel hopes that his parliamentary group will remain ‘in dialogue’ about citizens' assemblies despite the current rejection. ‘The current situation is that we are still in talks with our coalition partner, but we do not yet have a favourable decision,’ Peschel told the Tagesspiegel on 3 December 2025.

Criticism from the Left Party and the Greens

The Left Party and the Greens, which have not been represented in the state parliament since the 2024 state elections, criticise the BSW's rejection of mini-publics.

Apparently, the citizens' assemblies are falling victim to the current ‘coalition chaos,’ said Stephan Wende, deputy state leader of the Left Party in Brandenburg. ‘It is a tragedy that a governing coalition, which has been unable to get anything done for weeks, is now also blocking a key instrument of participation through self-imposed obstruction.’ From the Left Party politician's point of view, the introduction of citizens' assemblies would be a great benefit for Brandenburg.

‘Opportunity missed’

Juliana Meyer, leader of the Green Party in Brandenburg, accused the BSW of playing ‘tactical games’ and called on the parliamentary group to reverse its decision and clear the way for the establishment of citizens' assemblies.

The association ‘Mehr Demokratie’ (More Democracy) expressed its disappointment with the BSW. The rejection was a missed opportunity to counter declining confidence in democracy, said Berlin-Brandenburg regional spokesperson Oliver Wiedmann. Citizens' assemblies could be a building block for entering into dialogue with citizens in a structured way.

It is standard practice for citizens' assemblies to be organised by an external participation agency. This ensures that the selected topic is moderated neutrally and does not take on a partisan political slant, said Wiedmann. ‘Working in changing small groups in citizens' assemblies requires expertise and human resources that cannot be provided by the state parliament.’ Accordingly, funds have been made available in the state budget.

The topic of volunteering in rural areas

The first state-wide citizens' assembly was to deal with the topic of volunteering in rural areas. The planned title was ‘Strong together – further developing civic engagement in Brandenburg's rural regions’.

A draft proposal by the SPD and BSW pointed out that, especially in a large state like Brandenburg, it was important to ‘further develop existing engagement structures, secure them for the long term and consolidate them permanently at all levels’. Volunteering, especially in rural regions, often represents an ‘indispensable supplement or even a substitute for state or municipal infrastructures’. Currently, around 800,000 people in the state are involved in voluntary work.

Volunteering at risk

Volunteering in rural areas – from sports clubs and volunteer fire brigades to cultural and social projects – is considered to be at risk. The reasons: the population is ageing, young people are moving away, and distances are long. The aim of the Citizens' Assembly would have been to obtain a precise picture of the measures citizens would like to see in order to strengthen and further develop volunteering.

The Citizens' Assembly was to consist of 51 Brandenburg residents, who were to be selected at random from the population. The selection was to be made in such a way that the mini-public would reflect the population in terms of age, gender, origin, place of residence and level of education. All persons aged 16 and over with their primary residence in Brandenburg were to be eligible to participate.

‘Taking citizens seriously as everyday experts’

Parliament President Ulrike Liedtke sees the citizens' assemblies, which are designed for discussion and consensus-building, as an opportunity to counteract the increasing polarisation in society and further develop democracy.

‘We want to take citizens seriously as everyday experts – as people who contribute experiences, ideas and perspectives from their everyday lives that can enrich politics,’ says Liedtke. ‘The citizens' assembly is an additional advisory instrument that opens up new perspectives – beyond the well-established rituals of political life.’

Mini-publics on voluntary work

As early as 1998, six randomly selected citizens' forums in Baden-Württemberg dealt with ideas for strengthening voluntary work and social engagement. A Citizens' Jury on this topic took place in Arnsberg on 22 November 2025. Another mini-public on this topic will meet shortly in the district of Marburg-Biedenkopf.