Federal Council clause

A Bundesrat clause is a formal or informal agreement by the coalition government of a German federal state in the event that the coalition partners cannot agree on their vote in the Bundesrat , which is to be given uniformly.

If the agreement is formal, it is usually written down in the coalition agreement of the relevant state government. This usually results in abstention in the Federal Council. Because the Federal Council can only pass resolutions with a majority of the possible votes, abstentions in the Federal Council de facto have the effect of no votes.

Since Germany is a country with personalized proportional representation and the federal states are involved through the federal structure , even small parties or parties that pass the five percent hurdle in the respective countries and form a state coalition can indirectly participate in the formation of federal legislation . The election system according to Art. 38 para. 3 GG by the federal election law regulated (BWG).

In this respect, this clause and the regulations of the Federal Council, as far as abstentions are concerned, also give smaller parties the chance to actively shape politics.