Politics - Record number of visitors to the NRW state parliament - more work for MPs
In 2023, the North Rhine-Westphalian state parliament attracted more people, especially schoolchildren, than ever before. According to a state parliament spokesperson, almost 63,000 visitors in 1900 groups explored the parliament. Almost half of these were schoolchildren. A further 30,000 people visited parliament for special events such as the Parliament Night, the Night of the Museums, Open Sundays, World Children's Day and the Open Day. In total, the state parliament received well over 90,000 visits.
The fact that visitor numbers are now so high is also due to new formats such as the Parliament Night, which attracts people interested in politics to the parliament building on the banks of the Rhine in Düsseldorf. At concerts and talks, visitors were able to take a look at the guest books of the state parliament or sit in the seats of the members of parliament in the circular plenary chamber.
The presidium of the state parliament also went outside and visited 57 schools this year. The parliamentarians were able to talk to around 16,700 children and young people in person. "After the coronavirus pandemic, citizens are coming back to their parliament and experiencing democracy live on site," said Parliament President André Kuper. "And that's important, because democracy is under pressure. Every experience of parliament, every contact with democracy helps to strengthen it."
More meetings and questions
However, MPs also had more work to do in 2023. They debated for 254 hours and 43 minutes on 33 plenary days. The number of committee meetings in parliament increased rapidly from 260 to 420.
The number of minor questions from the opposition almost doubled: this year, MPs submitted 2137 questions, compared to 1185 in 2022. More than half of the questions came from the AfD, the SPD asked around 500 times and the FDP around 450 times. The number of more extensive major interpellations increased from five to 14. The opposition often uses interpellations to probe the government on current debates or following media reports.
In contrast, the number of parliamentary briefings by the state government fell from seven in 2022 to two this year. 32 laws were passed in 2023 - compared to 54 in the year of the 2022 state elections
NRW state parliament
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The record attendance at the North Rhine-Westphalia state parliament in 2023, with over 90,000 visits, was mainly due to the popularity of events in Düsseldorf, such as the Parliament Night and the Night of the Museums. This increased interest in democracy can be seen as a response to its importance, as stated by Parliament President André Kuper, who emphasized that every experience of parliament helps strengthen it.
Source: www.stern.de
