Government in Brandenburg
Woidke wants to be prime minister again – majority narrow
How close will it be for Dietmar Woidke? He is running for re-election as Prime Minister in Brandenburg. But the majority for Germany’s first coalition of SPD and BSW is thin.
The first government coalition in Germany consisting of the SPD and the Alliance Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) is due to start work in Brandenburg this Wednesday. The election of the Prime Minister in the state parliament in Potsdam (10 a.m.) is eagerly awaited.
SPD state leader Dietmar Woidke wants to lead the state government again after eleven years and is taking part in the secret vote this morning. However, his coalition only has a thin majority of 46 votes in the state parliament with a total of 88 members. Woidke needs 45 votes in the first and second rounds.
Dissenter in the Woidke election five years ago
Five years ago, Prime Minister Woidke was elected in the first round, although mathematically he did not receive all the votes from his coalition with the CDU and the Greens.
This time, at least from the ranks of the BSW faction, a shaky candidate is already known. Sven Hornauf from Frankfurt (Oder) declared that he would not vote because of criticism of the deployment of the Arrow 3 missile defense system at the Holzdorf Woidke air base.
In a possible third round of voting, the hurdles are lower: whoever receives the most votes is elected.
BSW and SPD – an alliance without alternative
The SPD wants to govern together with the BSW for the next five years. Such a coalition is new territory in Germany. The BSW was only founded this year and immediately entered the state parliament.
Only the SPD and BSW have a realistic majority in the state parliament, because no party wants to form a coalition with the AfD. In Thuringia, the SPD, CDU and BSW are aiming for a coalition.
Survey: Majority views coalition of SPD and BSW critically
The majority of people in Brandenburg view the new government coalition made up of the SPD and BSW with skepticism. Before the start of the new state government, 30 percent of Brandenburg residents think the alliance is good or very good, as shown in a survey by the opinion research institute Infratest Dimap on behalf of rbb24 Brandenburg aktuell and Antenne Brandenburg. 61 percent rate the coalition less well or poorly.
Government team is due to start work on Wednesday
Around two and a half months after the state elections, the new government team is due to get started on Wednesday. The SPD occupies six ministries plus the State Chancellery, the BSW three ministries.
When the Prime Minister is sworn in, he appoints his cabinet. Afterwards, State Parliament President Ulrike Liedtke (SPD) will swear in the new ministers.
The future Agriculture and Environment Ministry, Hanka Mittelstädt from the SPD, is unlikely to be there on Wednesday. She ran a family agricultural business, a business with laying hens, which she has yet to give up. The ministerial law states: “The members of the state government may not hold any other paid public office in addition to their office, nor may they exercise any trade or profession.”
dpa
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.
