✶ Germany · 21st Bundestag, 630 members

316 of 630,
and the Länder.

No party has won a Bundestag majority alone since the CDU/CSU in 1957. Pick groups to build a chancellor's majority, a two-thirds majority to amend the Basic Law, and see how the same parties would fare in the Bundesrat.

328seats

Kanzlermehrheit 316 elect a chancellor and survive a constructive no-confidence vote
Two-thirds 420 amend the Basic Law (with 46 Bundesrat votes)
Bundesrat —

The Merz coalition since May 2025.

316 for the Kanzlermehrheit

How German coalitions work

Agreements,
not just votes.

Coalition agreementA contract in print
Partners negotiate a detailed programme before the chancellor vote; the 2025 agreement, Verantwortung für Deutschland, runs to well over a hundred pages.
ColoursBlack, red, green, yellow
Coalitions are named by party colours: black–red (CDU/CSU–SPD), traffic light (SPD–Greens–FDP, 2021–24), Kenya (black–red–green), Jamaica (black–yellow–green).
FirewallNo AfD in government
Every party in the Bundestag rules out a coalition with the AfD, which the domestic intelligence service classified as confirmed right-wing extremist in May 2025 (suspended pending a court case).
Minority governmentNever federally
Every chancellor since 1949 has had a majority coalition at election; Saxony and Thuringia are run by minority governments today.

Builder

Agreements,not just votes.

Agreements,
not just votes.