Germany's postwar economic recovery was severely stunted by the excessive reparations bill that was paid in large installments several times per year. The debt had caused hyperinflation and economic instability that further strained political conflicts and the Weimar Republic's ties with the people.
Although the Weimar Republic had strived to be a progressive democracy, the president carried an inordinate amount of power. The Social Democrats had created a constitution and political system very similar to the United States with an attempt at checks and balances of power. However, the president had enough vetoing power to override even the calls of the Reichstag Legislature. The president was essentially still a "Kaiser" and its injustice further worsened political tension. In addition to this benefit of parliamentary democracy being offset, the detriment was still quite prominent. Because there were people voting for each and every party, there was no true majority party in the Reichstag at the time. The parties often argued and were very slow and inefficient in passing legislation. The majority coalitions that needed to form in these situations to get legislation passed in this situation was often not the go to way to reform government because the political parties were not loyal and had weak ties with one another. Creating a coalition to passing a contentious bill could cause the Reichstag to fracture. This great political instability had greatly hindered the effectiveness the Weimar Republic's government.
The Weimar Republic faced numerous opponents who wanted a new regime. While the Social Democrats did hold a lot of power, they were a politically "moderate" group thus facing persecution from both the left and right. The German military organizations of World War I had, far from ducking out of public entirely, had stayed in the center of public attention. They were still looked up to by many and, along with the support of the far right, reminded everyone of the glory days of Bismarck's imperialism.
