Germany
In the German Bundestag the president can call for the so-called Hammelsprung (literally, ram's leap) if an undisputed majority couldn't be established by either MPs raising their hands or standing in order to cast their votes. In this voting procedure the MPs leave the plenary hall and re-enter through one of three doors designated for "yes", "no", or "abstention".
According to the Duden dictionary, the expression refers to the MPs grouping themselves like sheep behind their respective bellwether(s) before re-entering the chamber. The procedure was introduced in 1874 by a Reichstag vice president. In 1894 the architect of the new Reichstag building made a reference to the Hammelsprung: above the door for "yes", he depicted Ulysses and his friends escaping from Polyphemus.
Read more about this topic: Division Of The Assembly
Famous quotes containing the word germany:
“If my theory of relativity is proven correct, Germany will claim me as a German and France will declare that I am a citizen of the world. Should my theory prove untrue, France will say that I am a German and Germany will declare that I am a Jew.”
—Albert Einstein (1879–1955)
“How does Nature deify us with a few and cheap elements! Give me health and a day, and I will make the pomp of emperors ridiculous. The dawn is my Assyria; the sun-set and moon-rise my Paphos, and unimaginable realms of faerie; broad noon shall be my England of the senses and the understanding; the night shall be my Germany of mystic philosophy and dreams.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)