Cabinet Principle
In accordance with the cabinet principle , government decisions are taken by majority voting by all cabinet members. If the Chancellor deviates from the majority opinion, he can make use of his authority to issue guidelines . Article 65 of the Basic Law states: “The Federal Chancellor determines the guidelines for politics and is responsible for them. Within these guidelines, each federal minister manages his division independently and under his own responsibility. The federal government decides on differences of opinion between the federal ministers. "
The cabinet consists of the chancellor and the ministers. The cabinet can decide on legislative initiatives. The committee has a quorum if the chancellor and half of the ministers are present.
See also: Chancellor democracy , Chancellor principle