# DE Parliament Activity — Bundestag WP21

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## 🎯 BEST ESTIMATE

| Metric | Value | Confidence | Last Updated |
|--------|-------|------------|--------------|
| **Total Drucksachen (WP21)** | **7,605** | 99% | 2026-04-20 |
| **Kleine Anfragen (most common)** | **1,812** | 99% | 2026-04-20 |
| **Gesetzentwürfe (legislative bills)** | **480** | 99% | 2026-04-20 |
| **Vorgänge (legislative processes)** | **12,507** | 99% | 2026-04-20 |
| **Plenarprotokolle (plenary sessions)** | **83** | 99% | 2026-04-20 |

**One-liner:** WP21 first 6 months: 7,605 Drucksachen, 1,812 Anfragen, 12,507 processes.

**Caveat:** WP21 began October 2025 — all counts reflect roughly 6 months of activity, not a full legislative term.

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## Quick Context

The 21st German Bundestag (WP21) convened in October 2025 after the February federal election — all counts reflect ~6 months of activity, not a full term. Drucksachen are the primary instrument through which MPs exercise oversight, initiate legislation, and question government — the paper trail of democracy. Kleine Anfragen (1,812) dominate, reflecting the opposition's core tool: forcing government to answer on the record.

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## Methodology Summary

**Approach:** Live API queries to the DIP (Dokumentations- und Informationssystem für Parlamentsmaterialien) using the `numFound` field with `limit=1` — no bulk download required.

**Sources:**
- [DIP Bundestag API](https://search.dip.bundestag.de/api/v1) — official parliamentary documentation system, authoritative primary source
- [DIP Help / API docs](https://dip.bundestag.de/%C3%BCber-dip/hilfe/api)

**Definition Used:** All `drucksache`, `vorgang`, and `plenarprotokoll` records filtered to `f.wahlperiode=21` as of 2026-04-20.

**Note on API key:** Temporary public key expires 05/2026. Renew at parlamentsdokumentation@bundestag.de.

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## Detailed Findings

### Drucksachen by Type — WP21 (as of 2026-04-20)

| Type | Count | Description |
|------|-------|-------------|
| **Kleine Anfrage** | 1,812 | Small parliamentary questions — primary opposition tool |
| **Unterrichtung** | 800 | Government reports and notifications to parliament |
| **Antrag** | 603 | Motions by parliamentary groups |
| **Gesetzentwurf** | 480 | Legislative bills |
| **Beschlussempfehlung** | 272 | Committee recommendations |
| **Schriftliche Fragen** | 54 | Written questions to ministers |
| **Entschließungsantrag** | 56 | Resolution motions |
| **Große Anfrage** | 12 | Major parliamentary inquiries |
| **Total (all types)** | **7,605** | All Drucksachen WP21 |

### Additional Indicators

| Indicator | Count | Notes |
|-----------|-------|-------|
| Vorgänge | 12,507 | Legislative processes (aggregates documents across stages) |
| Plenarprotokolle | 83 | Plenary session transcripts |

### Democratic Accountability Context

Kleine Anfragen are the sharpest instrument opposition parties have: the government must answer within a fixed deadline, on the record, in writing. 1,812 in 6 months — roughly 10 per day the Bundestag is in session — indicates an active opposition accountability function. The ratio of Gesetzentwürfe (480) to Vorgänge (12,507) reflects that most legislative activity involves existing processes with multiple stages rather than new bill initiations.

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## Source Analysis

### Why These Sources?

| Source | Strengths | Weaknesses | Weight Given |
|--------|-----------|------------|--------------|
| **DIP Bundestag API** | Official primary source, real-time, legally authoritative | Temporary API key situation; `Anfrage` not a valid umbrella type (use specific subtypes) | High |

### Key Source Conflicts

1. The task specification listed `Anfrage` as an umbrella drucksachetyp — live testing showed this returns 0. Correct types are `Kleine Anfrage`, `Große Anfrage`, and `Schriftliche Fragen` separately. Counts reflect the correct individual types.

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## Research Metadata

| Attribute | Value |
|-----------|-------|
| **Research Date** | 2026-04-20 |
| **Researcher** | PAI / kai |
| **Method** | DIP API live query — `numFound` counts, `limit=1` per type |
| **Confidence Level** | 99% (official government database, primary source) |
| **Known Gaps** | WP21 only ~6 months old; type taxonomy may have additional subtypes not queried |

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## Changelog

| Date | Change | Reason |
|------|--------|--------|
| 2026-04-20 | Initial dataset created | First DIP API integration for Substrate |

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## Full Data

See `drucksachen-wp21.csv` in this directory for machine-readable counts.

**Fetch script:** `bun get-de-parliament` (root of Substrate repo)