Leadership does not mean making every specialist decision personally.
Article 65 combines several ways of working: the Chancellor sets policy guidelines, ministers are responsible for their departments, and the government collectively resolves disagreements between ministers.
This creates a cabinet with leadership and distributed responsibility. A finance minister and foreign minister, for example, have different portfolios but belong to the same federal government.
The other three answers
Presidents of other constitutional institutions do not lead the cabinet.
the President of the Bundestag
The President of the Bundestag presides over parliamentary sittings and the parliamentary presidency, not the federal government.
the Federal President
The Federal President is head of state and, among other duties, appoints government members under constitutional rules. The President does not chair cabinet meetings.
the President of the Bundesrat
The President of the Bundesrat chairs the Bundesrat. That institution representing the states is not the federal cabinet.
The government and parliamentary majority are different bodies.
Governing parties may command a Bundestag majority. Their parliamentary groups do not thereby constitute the cabinet; it consists of government members appointed under constitutional rules.
Authority to set policy guidelines does not permit bypassing laws or fundamental rights. The entire federal government is bound by the constitutional order.
Articles 62 and 65 · Basic Law ↗Lead the cabinet: Chancellor. Lead a department: responsible minister.
Overall political direction and specialist responsibility work together.
Three words for this question
- das Bundeskabinettfederal cabinet
- The collective governing body comprising the Chancellor and federal ministers.
- das Ressortdepartment or portfolio
- The area of responsibility of a ministry.
- die Richtlinienkompetenzauthority to set policy guidelines
- The Chancellor's authority to determine the basic political direction.