During the first four years of demcratic rule in Germany, the new Weimar Republic faced many problems and opposition, as the people of Germany were beginning to come to terms with one of the greatest political changes in their history.
When the constitution for the new Weimar Government first became effective in August 1919, there were already critics of it's content. This caused immediate problems for the Republic - not only did the criticism highlight flaws in their constitution, but primarily signalled a relationship with some of the public that was poor from the start.
People criticised the Republic for giving too much power to the President. He had the power to appoint and dismiss the Reich Government, and could dissolve the Reichstag. Under Article 48, he could also proclaim a national state of emergency, which effectively gave him totalitarian rule over the country. Some believed that this power was too signifiacant. In addition, he was also elected for seven years, and was not allowed to stay on for a fyrther term after that. This not only meant that if a president was unnsuccessful and unpopular, he could not be removed from power for an extroadinarily lengthy term, but also, as the president knew there he was able to stand for another term, he may see no need, especially nearing the end of his term, to impress the public or work dedicatedly for his country. The latter factor inparticular was a major potential problem facing the Republic.
The power of the army, due to the Ebert-Groener pact, was also a major potential problem for the Republic, as effectively, they had given authroity to a powerful group who were anti-democracy, and therefore opposed to the system that they were working under. This could also have proven to be a costly problem facing the Weimar Government. Additionally, the division of power between the National and State (Lãnder) Governments also acted as a potential problem, as some of the State Governments, for example in Bavaria, were run by nationalists who were opposed to the Weimar system.
