Schroder's dissolution of the 'Bundestag' approved: An expression of faith in the German public

Dissolution of the 'Bundestag' by the Federal President on advice of Federal Chancellor - A 'negative' motion for a vote of confidence - Precedents of 1972 and 1982 - Dissolution in conformity with the constitution according to German constitutional court - The existence of a political crisis 'sine qua non' for a dissolution to be constitutionally legitimate - Limited judicial control on decision to dissolve as set out in a 1983 ruling even further limited in the 2005 ruling - Effects of the exercised judicial self-restraint on constitutional division of powers - No proof for a decline of the rule of law or of acceptance of directly democratic elements - Strengthening of the powers of the Federal Chancellor sign of faith in the stability of the German government system.