Who has the majority in the Bundesrat?
The Bundesrat, the federal council of the states, has 69 votes; each state votes as a bloc with three to six votes. A majority needs 35. Because coalitions abstain when they disagree, what counts in practice is which votes a party can block: any party that sits in state governments with more than 34 votes combined can hold up bills requiring consent.
At present CDU/CSU sits in governments with 47 votes, SPD with 47.
Votes by coalition
| Coalition | States | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| CDU/CSU + SPDFederal government | Berlin, Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saxony | 17 | 24.6% |
| CDU/CSU + Grüne | Baden-Württemberg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Schleswig-Holstein | 16 | 23.2% |
| SPD + Grüne | Hamburg, Lower Saxony | 9 | 13.0% |
| CDU/CSU + Freie Wähler | Bavaria | 6 | 8.7% |
| SPD + BSW | Brandenburg | 4 | 5.8% |
| CDU/CSU + SPD + FDP | Saxony-Anhalt | 4 | 5.8% |
| CDU/CSU + SPD + BSW | Thuringia | 4 | 5.8% |
| SPD + Grüne + Linke | Bremen | 3 | 4.3% |
| SPD + Linke | Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania | 3 | 4.3% |
| SPD | Saarland | 3 | 4.3% |
| Total | 69 | 100.0% | |
The coalitions of CDU/CSU and SPD hold the most votes in the Bundesrat with 17 of 69 (24.6%).
How were the votes determined?
Under Article 51 of the Basic Law each state has three to six votes depending on its population, 69 in total. A state's votes are attributed to the coalition that forms its government (as per the coalition agreements; caretaker governments until a new one is formed). States with the same combination of parties are combined into one row; CDU and CSU count as one party (Union).
Nominal votes and blocking power
A state's votes are split among its governing parties in proportion to their results in the state election. A party can block when the states it governs in together hold a majority of the votes.
| Party | Can block | Nominal votes | Share Bundesrat | Share Bundestag |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CDU/CSU | yes (68.1%) | 30.2 | 43.8% | 33.0% |
| SPD | yes (68.1%) | 22.8 | 33.1% | 19.0% |
| Grüne | no (40.6%) | 9.8 | 14.2% | 13.5% |
| BSW | no (11.6%) | 2.6 | 3.8% | – |
| Freie Wähler | no (8.7%) | 1.8 | 2.6% | – |
| Linke | no (8.7%) | 1.2 | 1.8% | 10.2% |
| FDP | no (5.8%) | 0.5 | 0.7% | – |
| Parties of the federal government (CDU/CSU + SPD) | yes (100.0%) | 53.0 | 76.8% | 52.0% |
Only CDU/CSU with 43.8% and SPD with 33.1% of the nominal votes could block decisions in the Bundesrat.
What are nominal votes?
In the Bundesrat each state votes as a bloc; parties have no votes of their own. Nominal votes split a state's votes arithmetically among its governing parties in proportion to their vote shares in the state election that produced the government; CDU and CSU count as one party (Union). The total is 69 (rounding differences possible). A party can block when the states it governs in together hold at least 35 votes: because coalitions abstain when they disagree, no majority can then be reached. For comparison, the table shows each party's share of seats in the Bundestag after the 2025 federal election.
Votes of the states with government participation
A party counts the votes of every state whose government it is part of. Votes can therefore be attributed to several parties.
- CDU/CSU47 votes, 10 states
- SPD47 votes, 12 states
- Grüne28 votes, 6 states
- BSW8 votes, 2 states
- Freie Wähler6 votes, 1 state
- Linke6 votes, 2 states
- FDP4 votes, 1 state
Dashed line: majority from 35 votes.
Votes and government by state
| State | Votes | Government |
|---|---|---|
| Baden-Württemberg | 6 | Grüne + CDU |
| Bavaria | 6 | CSU + Freie Wähler |
| Berlin | 4 | CDU + SPD* |
| Brandenburg | 4 | SPD + BSW |
| Bremen | 3 | SPD + Grüne + Linke |
| Hamburg | 3 | SPD + Grüne |
| Hesse | 5 | CDU + SPD |
| Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania | 3 | SPD + Linke* |
| Lower Saxony | 6 | SPD + Grüne |
| North Rhine-Westphalia | 6 | CDU + Grüne |
| Rhineland-Palatinate | 4 | CDU + SPD |
| Saarland | 3 | SPD |
| Saxony | 4 | CDU + SPD |
| Saxony-Anhalt | 4 | CDU + SPD + FDP* |
| Schleswig-Holstein | 4 | CDU + Grüne |
| Thuringia | 4 | CDU + BSW + SPD |
* caretaker government until a new government is formed
Governments as per the coalition agreements. The row is updated after every state election, see the change log.