Changes are being proposed to the Bundestag’s rules of procedure, potentially altering the process for electing the Federal Chancellor. The adjustments, spearheaded by the CDU/CSU and SPD, aim to prevent procedural gridlock in a third round of voting.
Currently, nominating a candidate in a third ballot requires either a proposal from a parliamentary group or a quarter of all members. The proposed revision introduces a new tiered system. First, five percent of Bundestag members would have the right to propose a candidate. If this threshold isn’t met, the right to nominate shifts to individual members of parliament.
Furthermore, the Bundestag would become decision-making capable even with fewer than half of its members present during the third ballot. This adjustment is intended to counter attempts to politically delay the process. No adjustments are planned for the second round of voting.
These changes come after an earlier instance this year where Friedrich Merz of the CDU failed to secure a majority in the first round of the Chancellor election. A second ballot was only possible thanks to the support of the Left Party, as its absence would have rendered the process legally unfeasible. While the CDU/CSU and SPD coalition held a majority in the Bundestag, they lacked the necessary two-thirds majority to formally circumvent existing rules and schedule a second ballot on the same day.
