German interior ministers scrap unanimity rule to prevent AfD vetoes

New voting threshold adopted by circular vote

Germany's state interior ministers have formally ended their long-standing unanimity requirement for joint decisions inside the Standing Conference of Interior Ministers (IMK). A spokesperson for the conference announced on Wednesday evening that resolutions now require a qualified majority of at least 13 out of the 16 federal state votes. The policy change was passed via a written circular resolution completed several days prior to the public announcement. The IMK has never maintained formal written rules of procedure. Instead, its decision-making framework rested on decades of established custom under which any single state could defeat a proposed measure by registering an explicit dissenting vote.

Under the former unwritten convention, resolutions took effect as long as no state actively voted against them, with abstentions permitted. That structure was designed to pressure ministers to bridge differences on controversial domestic issues and build compromises rather than entrench maximalist demands. To prevent members from feeling forced into a formal veto, participating ministers could submit protocol declarations to state reservations in the record. The new 13-vote requirement removes the single-state veto while preserving the ability of states to coordinate security policies.

Saxony-Anhalt election prompts veto concerns

The direct impetus for the procedural shift was the outcome of the state parliamentary election in Saxony-Anhalt on 6 September 2026. The Alternative for Germany (AfD), led by top candidate Ulrich Siegmund, emerged as the strongest political force in the state parliament with 43.8% of the vote, while the Christian Democratic Union finished second with 17.2%. The AfD remains three seats short of an absolute majority in the state assembly. Despite having previously ruled out governing without an outright majority, Siegmund announced plans to seek election as minister-president in December. A prospective state government involving the AfD could place the state interior ministry under party leadership, enabling an AfD minister to block any conference resolution under the old veto rules.

Ministerial warnings dating to autumn 2025

Debate over reforming the voting system had intensified within the conference well before the September vote. At the autumn 2025 ministerial conference, Lower Saxony Interior Minister Daniela Behrens stated that the assembly would act to protect its decision-making functionality if the AfD entered a regional government.

that we remain capable of acting, so that the AfD cannot block important resolutions

Hesse Interior Minister Roman Poseck also warned at the 2025 meeting about the consequences of an AfD-led security department, noting that the conference would take whatever measures were required to maintain operational capability.

An AfD representative in a position that is so important for security would be fatal.

Role and structure of the interior conference

Established in 1954, the Standing Conference of Interior Ministers and Senators of the Federal States coordinates regional policy across law enforcement, domestic intelligence, and internal security. The body gathers for regular working sessions twice every year, holding one meeting in the spring and another in the autumn, and has convened roughly 220 times since its founding. Special sessions and written circular votes provide additional channels for urgent business. The federal interior minister takes part in all meetings as a permanent guest with the right to speak and submit motions, though without voting power, while leaders of federal security agencies present routine intelligence and threat briefings.