Overview
- Thursday's reports, drawn from a Spiegel review of 46 roll-call votes since March 2025, show the highest absence rates among members of The Left.
- Nearly one fifth of Left MPs missed roll-call votes on average, with lower rates for AfD and the Greens, while CDU/CSU and SPD recorded the fewest absences as the governing bloc guards a slim 12-vote buffer.
- Fraktionsloser MP Sieghard Knodel tops the individual list with 44 excused days and participation in only five of 46 roll-call votes, telling SWR he has burnout and will keep his mandate.
- Many gaps have documented causes, including maternity leave, illness, and injuries, with cases such as AfD’s Angela Rudzka logging 41 missed days, 32 during maternity leave, and Left MP Stella Merendino recovering after a spinal injury.
- In October 2025 the Bundestag raised deductions to €200 for excused and €300 for unexcused missed roll-call votes against a monthly tax-free allowance of €5,467.27, and it keeps no official attendance log by design.