Because of the threat of the AfD blockade: Interior ministers change quorum

dpa/rtr/taz | The Conference of Interior Ministers (IMK) has abandoned its principle of unanimous decisions. As we learned from the interior ministers, this decision was made a few days ago by circular resolution. Accordingly, anything that receives a majority of at least 13 of the 16 votes in the committee is deemed to have been decided with immediate effect.

The question of whether or not this principle should be retained with a view to a possible AfD interior minister had been discussed in the IMK for a long time. The IMK has no rules of procedure. Rather, the principle of unanimity, which allows for the possibility of a decision even in the event of abstentions, is based on long-standing practice.

The Conference of Interior Ministers is the permanent conference of the interior ministers and senators of the federal states in which they coordinate their policies and make joint decisions. The Federal Minister of the Interior takes part in their meetings as a permanent guest with the right to speak and make proposals, but without the right to vote, and brings the interests of the federal government into the deliberations. The top personnel of the federal security authorities present the current situation at the regular meetings, which take place twice a year.

The unanimity principle should force people to approach each other on controversial issues and find compromises instead of insisting on maximum positions. In order not to put a member in the predicament of saying no, there is the option of recording reservations in a minutes statement (instead of formally voting against) - a kind of valve that makes unanimity easier in practice.

The ability to compromise is not exactly the strength of the fundamentally oppositional AfD, as the right-wing extremists repeatedly demonstrate by blocking democratic institutions. The obligatory AfD victimhood followed immediately. Stefan Möller, AfD member of the Bundestag and close confidant of right-wing extremist Björn Höcke, said: “The move away from the unanimity principle illustrates the increasingly open willingness to simply change the rules after electoral defeats.” The disrespectful handling of the voters' vote shows who the real danger to democracy in this country comes from.

Well: In fact, his regional association in particular is always behaving obstructively and not willing to compromise. The AfD Thuringia is blocking elections for constitutional judges with its blocking minority. The AfD's senior president in the state blocked applications from the other parties for hours, thereby preventing the state parliament from being properly constituted. The state parliament could only be constituted by a decision of the state constitutional court.

Accordingly, Lower Saxony's Interior Minister Daniela Behrens (SPD) said at the 2025 autumn conference that if the AfD were to participate in government in a federal state, she would assume that in such a case the IMK would ensure "that we continue to have a quorum so that the AfD cannot block any important decisions". The Hessian Interior Minister, Roman Poseck (CDU), said at the time: “An AfD representative in a position that is so important for security would be fatal.” In such a case, the IMK would do everything to remain able to act.

In the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt on September 6th, the AfD with its top candidate, Ulrich Siegmund, became the strongest force with 43.8 percent, ahead of the CDU with 17.2 percent. The AfD is 3 votes short of an absolute majority. In his own words, Siegmund would still like to be elected as the first AfD prime minister in December. Before the state elections, he had repeatedly ruled out governing without a majority of his own.

The “Standing Conference of the Interior Ministers and Senators of the Federal States” was founded in 1954 to coordinate cooperation between the federal states at the political level. The respective Federal Minister of the Interior takes part in the meetings as a permanent guest without the right to vote. Since it was founded, around 220 conferences have been held. As a rule, the IMK meets twice a year, in spring and autumn. In addition, special meetings are possible ‌as well as resolutions in written circulation.