Government formation: Union and SPD on the home stretch

Before the CDU’s decision on the black and red coalition agreement, the future ministerial team of the Union is gaining more and more contours. According to information from the “Table Media” portal, the CDU politician Johann WadePhul will become Foreign Minister of a government under a Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

The energy manager and former CDU MP Katherina Reiche will take over the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the report says. The Schleswig-Holstein Minister of Education Karin Prien should lead the new educational department in the federal government. All three have been traded as promising candidates for weeks.

Merz and Söder want to introduce ministers on Monday

At the request of the German Press Agency, a CDU spokesman said that one was not expressed about the speculation. He referred to the presentation of the cabinet cast on Monday. Then CDU boss Merz wants to present the future ministers in Berlin who send his party to the federal government. At the same time, CSU boss Markus Söder introduces his candidates in Munich.

The specialist politician WadePhul from Schleswig-Holstein has been the first CDU foreign minister for almost 60 years. The former North Rhine-Westphalia Prime Minister Armin Laschet was also speculated. Prien also belonged to the CDU coalition negotiation team. For rich, it would be a kind of comeback: from 1998 to 2015 it belonged to the Bundestag. Seven years of this she was a member of the federal government as a parliamentary state secretary.

According to the coalition agreement, the CDU provides seven of the 17 ministers, as well as the SPD. There are three departments on the CSU. The SPD only wants to present its candidates for the new cabinet after the end of its membership decision on the coalition agreement.

Membership decision of the SPD

The SPD has its approximately 358,000 members decide on the contract with the Union. You can hand in your voices online by April 29 at 11:59 p.m. The result is to be announced on Wednesday. Before that, the SPD does not want to call ministers.

In addition to the majority of the votes, the participation of 20 percent of the party members is necessary. Party youth is dissatisfied with the coalition agreement, but a majority consent is considered likely, especially due to the lack of alternative. The only alternatives would be a coalition between the Union and AfD, a minority government or the new election of the Bundestag.

With reference to the AfD’s increase in votes, the SPD chairman Saskia Esken urged to vote to the members of her party, for the coalition agreement negotiated with the CDU and CSU. “Our task in the next legislature is very clear – some even say that this is our last chance – we have to regain confidence in democracy, renew and push their enemies back,” said Esken at a dialogue conference with party members in Baunatal in northern Hesse. “This is our historical obligation,” she added.

Union decides on a small party conference

Around 150 delegates from the CDU in Berlin come together this Monday to coordinate the coalition agreement negotiated between the party tours of the CDU, CSU and SPD. The consent is considered safe. The CSU had approved the 144 -page draft shortly after the agreement by board decision.

Chancellor is to be elected on May 6th

If the SPD also agrees, the coalition agreement is to be signed on May 5. The next day the chancellor would be. On May 6, Merz needs the approval of the majority of all members of the Bundestag, i.e. 316 votes – also called Chancellor majority.

The Bundestag includes 328 Union and SPD politicians. If more than twelve of them are missing or Merz refuse to vote, a second ballot can be scheduled within two weeks – if necessary with another candidate. Even if there is no chancellor’s majority, the majority of the votes of the MPs present are sufficient in a third ballot. However, it is likely that the majority will come about in the first ballot.