In the afternoon, the CSU and Free Voters want to seal their second coalition after the state elections in Bavaria. The future division of departments is now clear.
Just two weeks after the start of negotiations, the CSU and Free Voters in Bavaria are about to sign their next coalition agreement. After their significant increase in votes in the Bavarian state elections, the Free Voters are getting a fourth ministry:
They are taking over the digital department from the CSU, as the German Press Agency learned from coalition circles. In return, however, they will reportedly have to hand over one of two state secretary positions to the Christian Socialists.
The other departments
The further division of departments therefore remains unchanged. In particular, the Ministry of Agriculture, over which the CSU and Free Voters had been fighting fiercely for a long time, remains in the hands of the CSU. The Free Voters will therefore retain the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of the Environment.
In addition to the Prime Minister, the CSU continues to provide the Head of the State Chancellery and the European Minister. In addition to the Ministry of Agriculture, it also retains the departments of Interior, Finance, Justice, Transport/Construction, Health, Social Affairs and Science/Arts.
The Free Voters under party leader Hubert Aiwanger gained 4.2 points to 15.8 percent in the state elections on October 8th. They are now the second strongest force in the new state parliament after the CSU – with 37 members, ten more than before. The CSU had lost slightly from 37.2 to 37.0 percent – the number of its representatives remained constant compared to the last legislature.
After two weeks of coalition negotiations, the leaders of the CSU and Free Voters want to sign their new coalition agreement in the afternoon – beforehand, the respective party committees should give the green light. CSU leader Markus Söder will then be re-elected Bavarian Prime Minister on October 31, one day after the inaugural session of the new state parliament. The swearing-in of the new cabinet is scheduled for November 8th.
Content and collaboration
Both parties have previously invited committee meetings to approve the contract, which is reportedly around 80 pages long. In addition to content and the allocation of ministries, both rounds will also focus on the basic form of cooperation in the government. As much as the CSU and Free Voters tried to work together constructively in the very quiet negotiations, the poor personal relationship between Söder and Free Voters leader Hubert Aiwanger put a strain on the cooperation from the start.
The tense relationship culminated in the fact that there was no joint appearance by the party leaders during the entire negotiations, no photo or other camera image. The rounds were led by the heads of the state parliamentary groups, Klaus Holetschek (CSU) and Florian Streibl (Free Voters). Söder and Aiwanger only took part in the substantive negotiations a few times, always when fundamental compromises had to be found. In terms of content, only a preamble has been announced so far, which is intended to contain a commitment to democracy and a clear demarcation against the AfD.
The CSU and Free Voters had already governed together in the last legislative period. After the election on October 8th, they together have a stable majority of 122 of the 203 seats in the new state parliament.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
