Individuals are free to form political parties and to receive federal funding as long as the parties are democratic in nature. The country s judiciary is independent. In May parliament passed a new nationality law granting automatic citizenship to anyone born in Germany to foreign immigrants. German nationality had previously been linked to blood ties. The law also allows dual citizenship for the first time in German history, although only until age 23, when dual citizens must choose between their parents or German nationality.
Foreign adults can now receive citizenship after living in Germany for eight years.
Passage of the nationality law was widely seen as heralding a new integrationist era in German society. The conservative right, however, opposed the bill on the grounds that it would foster divided loyalties. Germany has no antidiscrimination law to protect immigrants, and even ethnic German immigrants increasingly face hostility from citizens who attribute the country s economic woes and high unemployment to immigration. The German press and broadcast media are free and independent, offering pluralistic viewpoints. Nazi propaganda and statements endorsing Nazism are illegal.