Minority government works – but comes at a high price

2026-09-03

A minority government can function in Germany. But it comes at a high political price, and Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) is about to find out.

Merz has pointed to Thuringia and Saxony as blueprints for a possible CDU minority government in Saxony-Anhalt. In both states, the CDU governs without a parliamentary majority and relies on votes from Die Linke (The Left Party). The idea is simple: stay in power by negotiating support for each law. The reality is complicated and costly.

The two models are very different. In Saxony, there is a so-called consultation mechanism. Before any bill reaches parliament, other factions get to see it. Die Linke can submit change requests, the government incorporates them, and in return gets the votes needed to pass the law. In Thuringia, it is looser. Deals are struck law by law. That system even led to the government being outvoted. Under former Ministerpräsident (Prime Minister) Bodo Ramelow from Die Linke, the CDU in 2023 pushed a real estate transfer tax bill through together with FDP and AfD against the red-red-green minority government. As FOCUS-online chief correspondent Ulrich Reitz put it: a left-wing premier had to accept that a key tax law passed with AfD votes.

For Saxony-Anhalt, the bill could be even higher. The CDU cannot assume Die Linke will automatically back its plans. Parliamentary group leader Heidi Reichinnek is already setting terms. According to Reitz, she wants government proposals to first be passed to the political pre-field of her party — meaning left-wing NGOs — before any parliamentary decision. That would give outside organizations direct influence on legislation.

Experts say minority governments are not automatically unstable. Studies of German states show no clear link to higher debt or fewer initiatives. In fact, more bills are introduced under minority governments than under majority ones. But they demand constant compromise and programmatic flexibility. Red lines don’t work. There is also always the risk that the opposition introduces laws against the government.

So yes, a minority government works. But as the examples from Thuringia, Saxony and the "Magdeburg Model" from 1994-2002 show, the price is influence ceded to the opposition, to NGOs, and to unpredictable parliamentary math.