Coalition is in place: The first blackberry coalition is in place – new government structure

The path is clear for the first coalition of the CDU, BSW and SPD in Germany. In a member survey, a majority of Thuringian Social Democrats voted for the coalition agreement of the so-called Blackberry Alliance, as the SPD board in Erfurt announced. Party congresses of the CDU and the Sahra-Wagenknecht party BSW had already approved the government contract, which had been fought over for weeks, in the past few days. Shortly after the government contract was perfect, an agreement was reached on the layout and distribution of the ministries.

The left wing of the SPD is critical of the coalition

According to the party, 1,625 SPD members took part in the online vote, and around 68 percent voted for the coalition agreement. In detail, 1,100 members voted yes, 514 voted no and 11 abstained. SPD state leader Georg Maier spoke of a clear vote in view of the controversial debate. “A good two thirds of the participants agreed to the contract. That is a clear message,” said Maier. “The SPD takes responsibility for the country in difficult times. We want to shape politics and not just comment from the second row.” According to its own information, the SPD has a total of around 3,400 members in Thuringia.

The CDU spoke of a milestone. “This broad support confirms to us that, in the spirit of cooperation, we have presented a contract that sets the right priorities,” said the CDU. However, the negotiated coalition agreement is controversial within the SPD. The left wing of the SPD, including the Jusos, is particularly critical of parts of the treaty and the lack of a majority for the so-called blackberry coalition and would have preferred to go into opposition.

The layout of the ministries has been determined

Now the CDU should get four ministerial positions, the Wagenknecht party three and the SPD, as the smallest partner, two. This means that the current number remains – but the ministries will largely be redesigned. The BSW then receives the Ministry of Finance. BSW regional director Katja Wolf is responsible for the important department in Erfurt, including responsibility for municipal finances. In addition, the young party should be given responsibility for a newly tailored ministry for digital and infrastructure as well as that for the environment, energy, nature conservation and forestry.

The CDU will be responsible for core areas such as the economy, education and migration and will provide the minister in the State Chancellery. The SPD, which has been in government for years, retains the Ministry of the Interior and receives the Ministry of Social Affairs. “All three partners have the opportunity to make their signature clear and to get the best out of their departments for Thuringia,” explained CDU leader Mario Voigt.

Prime Minister election will be tricky

After the SPD vote, Voigt’s prime ministerial election is expected to follow this Thursday (December 12th). It is considered sensitive because of a stalemate between the coalition and opposition votes in the state parliament. It is still unclear what role the AfD and its right winger Björn Höcke will play. The election and appointment of the cabinet are the final steps towards forming a government after the state elections at the beginning of September. Voigt wants to replace the long-time incumbent Bodo Ramelow from the Left.

The Left sets conditions for Voigt’s election

In the Thuringian parliament, the CDU, BSW and SPD have 44 seats, the AfD as the strongest faction and the Left as the second opposition faction also have 44 together. This means that Voigt is dependent on at least one vote from the opposition in the first two rounds of the prime ministerial election. It was only in the third round of voting that the relative majority that the coalition had was enough for him.

The Left ties votes for Voigt to a written agreement. “If there is no agreement, there will be no votes from us for the prime minister candidate Mario Voigt,” said Left parliamentary group leader Christian Schaft in Erfurt. It’s about a kind of set of rules for dealing with each other. Ramelow also made similar statements.

The Left wants to agree that in the prime ministerial election and in the subsequent parliamentary work, compromises or majorities will only be sought among the four democratic factions – “in order to rule out the AfD’s potential for blackmail.” According to Schaft, the CDU, BSW, SPD and the Left want to make another attempt this Tuesday. However, an agreement has so far been rejected by the CDU.

Controversy over possible AfD votes

For days there has been discussion about how Voigt should behave if the decisive votes in the first rounds came from the Höcke AfD, which is classified as right-wing extremist. BSW founder Sahra Wagenknecht took the view at her party’s state party conference last Saturday that Voigt could also be elected with AfD votes. “We can’t give the AfD the decision about whether someone becomes prime minister. Handing over power to Mr. Höcke would be completely crazy.”

This opinion is also represented within the Thuringian CDU – but not in the SPD. She doesn’t really want to take the risk of a prime ministerial election with AfD votes.