Thuringia
Why is the Blackberry Coalition actually called that?
A novelty in Germany: The first blackberry coalition has been established in Thuringia. What does the term mean and where does it come from? The most important questions and answers.
Who did the term come from?
The inventor of the term is the political scientist Karl-Rudolf Korte, who wrote about a possible “blackberry coalition” for the first time in a summer paper. Since then, the term has become established in German politics.
Which parties are involved in Thuringia?
“There could be a new alliance for the first time: black (CDU), purple (BSW), red (SPD),” wrote Korte. If the three parties CDU, SPD and BSW agree on a coalition, one could speak of a blackberry coalition. Since the Alliance Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) was only founded in September 2023, the coalition form is as new as the party itself.
What does this have to do with blackberries?
A blackberry is flexible, just like the party alliance of the CDU, BSW and SPD. The fruit varies in color depending on the degree of ripeness. First it’s red, then it turns purple – and finally it’s black. It therefore combines all the colors of the parties involved.
Where does the term blackberry coalition go?
Biologists might criticize the term blackberry coalition because, strictly speaking, the blackberry is not a berry. Since the blackberry consists of many small individual parts, the technical term for it is “collective drupe”. Blackberries have the same structure as stone fruits, for example plums.
However, the stone that contains the seeds of the fruit is so tiny in the blackberry that it does not have to be removed – unlike with plums. Because of the prickly bushes, blackberries are also colloquially called dewberries. Does this term fit better with the coalition in Thuringia? That remains to be seen.
What other names are there for tripartite alliances?
The traffic light government made up of the SPD (red), FDP (yellow) and the Greens (green) has probably been known to most people in Germany since the last federal election at the latest. The origin of the name is obvious: a traffic light is also red, yellow and green. A traffic light coalition is also currently in power in Rhineland-Palatinate. But there are other crazy names for three-party coalitions.
In Saxony-Anhalt, for example, the CDU (black), SPD (red) and FDP (yellow) work together in a so-called Germany coalition. And in Saxony, the Kenya coalition of CDU (black), SPD (red) and Greens (green) is in power. A Jamaica coalition made up of the CDU (black), the Greens (green) and the FDP (yellow) is also conceivable and has already existed in Schleswig-Holstein, for example. All of these names are based on the colors in the flags of the respective countries.
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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.
