Formation of government: SPD and BSW in Brandenburg agree to coalition talks

BSW and SPD have agreed on coalition negotiations in Brandenburg. In the evening, the state executive boards of both parties unanimously agreed to start coalition talks, as the two possible government partners announced. In the morning, the two party leaders Dietmar Woidke (SPD) and Robert Crumbach (BSW) presented the results of the exploratory talks lasting several weeks. According to the SPD, coalition talks are scheduled to begin on Monday.

Crumbach: Paper was not easy to negotiate

Crumbach also recognized the exploratory paper as a major effort by the SPD. It was a long road for the SPD, especially when it came to issues relating to peace efforts in the Ukraine war. It wasn’t easy for his party to negotiate this. It is a compromise – also when it comes to questions about stronger efforts for peace.

The topic of peace takes up a lot of space

A stronger commitment to peace in Ukraine was one of the central themes in the exploratory discussions between the two parties. “We agreed that we would (…) work to promote a diplomatic solution to the Ukraine conflict and the reduction of the associated tensions within Europe through negotiations with the parties to the conflict with the aim of a ceasefire and lasting peace,” it said in the three-page joint exploratory paper.

“We are happy with any diplomatic effort,” Crumbach added this morning. “We bet on everyone.” His party emphasizes that Germany bears a great responsibility in bringing about a ceasefire, but has not yet lived up to this responsibility. Both sides left it open which specific measures should be taken.

Search for “total package” for Brandenburg begins

Despite disagreements, a compromise was reached, SPD General Secretary David Kolesnyk told RBB. Now the coalition negotiations are about concrete content. An attempt will be made to put together a coherent “overall package” for Brandenburg at the end of the talks. Kolesnyk said he was “confident” that the talks would lead to a good result.

“It is now an obligation to ensure that Brandenburg is a state that has a secure government. (…) It was not an easy path that we set out on,” said Woidke at a press conference in the Potsdam state parliament in the morning said. The exploratory result is an “intermediate stage”. “The real challenge comes with the coalition negotiations,” emphasized Woidke.

BSW boss Sahra Wagenknecht calls for a clear position on the deployment of US medium-range missiles and for a ceasefire between Russia and the invaded Ukraine. Wagenknecht is not directly at the negotiating table, but the BSW in Brandenburg says it is coordinating closely with her.

Approach also in Thuringia

There was also a breakthrough in Thuringia on Monday. In Erfurt, after tough negotiations, the state chairmen of the CDU, BSW and SPD announced a compromise on the Wagenknecht party’s controversial foreign policy demands for the preamble to a possible government contract. Coalition talks are scheduled to start on Tuesday. However, the approval of the BSW state board was still pending in the evening.

BSW boss Wagenknecht recently warned her party against making too many concessions on the way to possible government participation. Compromises must be possible, she told the magazine “Stern”. “But willingness to compromise must not be an excuse to throw overboard almost everything you were elected for in order to participate in government.”

After the state elections on September 22nd, only four parliamentary groups, SPD, AfD, CDU and BSW, are still represented in the state parliament in Potsdam. Prime Minister Woidke’s SPD became the strongest force with 30.9 percent, ahead of the AfD with 29.2 percent. The new alliance Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) reached third place with 13.5 percent, putting it ahead of the CDU. So far, Woidke has governed in a coalition of the SPD, CDU and Greens.