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As a funny aside - if the current Bundestag is 709 seats... where the hell are they planning to fit all these chairs?

(I know that lots of politicians never or rarely show up to parliament anyway, but I think the idea is that they have a fixed seat such that it becomes clear which segment of the parliament is physically taken up by which party)

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Search for "Bundesversammlung" (the constitutional body that elects the German president) to see some pictures of the Bundestag with 1260 seats. It's pretty crowded.. but not impossible. Although I doubt that they would have all these chairs permanently in the Bundestag.

Wow, TIL! Thanks!

It's definitely a crowded house, and much more of a temporary arrangement (it looks like they had to take out most of the desks and swivel chairs)!

http://europedirect.cut.ac.cy/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/201...

Fill in the visitor's balcony, I guess.

It's been a while since I visited in school, but IIRC the whole balcony is in a different security area. Also, I'm not sure the press would appreciate getting uninvited either.

Reroute the security zones. Tell the press to quit crying.

What's the other option, fill in the aisles? Given the frequency of terrorist attacks in Europe, preserving the ability of lawmakers to quickly leave a room seems more important than the feelings of journalists.

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