Citizens up close: Insights into Bavarian politics with Alexander Hold

Citizens up close: Insights into Bavarian politics with Alexander Hold

On July 16, 2025, over 40 citizens from the region visited the Bavarian State Parliament in Munich together. The invitation came from Alexander Hold, Vice President of the Bavarian State Parliament and member of the Free Voters. What an exciting day that offered a unique look behind the scenes of politics!

The group started the excursion with lunch together before going on a tour of the impressive Maximilianeum, the seat of the Bavarian State Parliament. An information film provided initial insights into the tasks and working methods of the state parliament. Particular highlights were participation in a plenary debate on the topic of language training, where visitors watched and cheered from the visitors' gallery.

Personal exchange and political topics

Alexander Hold took over an hour to chat with his guests and answer their questions. He discussed current political issues, parliamentary processes and shared personal experiences. The focus was particularly on preparation for plenary sessions, the role of women in politics and the future prospects of young people. Hold emphasized several times the importance of personal contact and open dialogue in order to promote identification with democracy.

The visitors were impressed by the deep insights they received into state politics. After returning to Kempten, they felt enriched with a strengthened awareness of citizen-oriented politics and living democracy. Such experiences are essential to arouse interest in political participation, as is the website political education suggests: Citizens have a great interest in becoming actively involved in the political processes.

Citizen participation and the future of democracy

In times when dissatisfaction with political institutions and voter turnout, especially among young people, are declining, citizen participation is becoming increasingly important. According to an analysis, only about 2% of young people are involved in traditional political institutions. What is needed here are alternative forms of political engagement that are closer to the realities of young people's lives.

The creation and discussion of proposals in citizens' assemblies, as recently took place in Germany, represents a step in this direction. Projects such as the citizens' assembly offer the opportunity for randomly drawn citizens to actively develop political recommendations. This could be a key to overcoming the crisis of trust in the democratic system and discussing direct democracy as a responsible solution. Initiatives like Stuttgart 21 demonstrate how citizen participation can be experienced and how important dialogue between politicians and citizens is.

On the website of the Bavarian State Parliament, can be found at bayern.landtag.de, additional documents and information are available that provide further insights into parliamentary work. From printed matter to minutes to live streams of the plenary sessions: there is a lot to discover here!

Overall, the event in the Bavarian State Parliament was a complete success and illustrated how important personal contacts and exchange between citizens and politicians are. A day that will hopefully motivate many to get actively involved in the political processes!