The Interior Ministers' Conference has abolished the principle of unanimity and now considers any motion passed with thirteen of sixteen votes, a change adopted by circular resolution and immediately enforced by a newly created Honor Guard of the Ballot, whose twelve officers in dress uniform escort the wooden box from the locked cabinet to the conference table at every session.
The federal interior minister, present as a permanent guest with no vote, has had his chair bolted to the floor at the far end of the room, from which he may speak and propose but never approach the box. «We are simply ensuring that no single minister can hold the rest of us hostage,» said one state interior minister, speaking on condition of anonymity. «The guard is there to remind everyone that the box is now a majority instrument.»
Officials have begun rehearsing the new procedure twice weekly, with ministers practicing the walk from their seats to the ballot box under the guard's supervision. A separate timetable now governs who may speak before the box is opened, and the federal minister's remarks have been limited to four minutes, timed by a ceremonial hourglass that the guard turns in unison.
Next week the conference will meet to decide whether the honor guard should also accompany the box to the train station when it travels to the next host city, and whether the federal minister's chair should be moved to a different room entirely.