On 1st January 2008, 8 of the 16 German Lander (or states) introduced public smoking bans similar to the one we now have in Wales. Each of the states was free to make its own decision, because under the German federal law, all legislative power resides at the State level, unless specifically reserved under the ‘Basic law’ for the federal government. Consequently, the German Lander governments all have considerably more power than say the Scottish Parliament, let alone the Senedd, and even retain the right to conduct their own international relations.
The largest German state has a population of 18 million, less than half the size of England, and if Wales were part of a federal Germany we would be right in the middle of the rankings, with 8 states larger than us and 8 states smaller.
Yet the British government considers that we are too small a nation to manage our own affairs – oh - and who set up the system of German government?
Yes you guessed - the British......
