After the 2025 federal election
Kretschmann: Chance for black-green “very big”
February 6, 2024, 7:24 a.m
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In the summer, Friedrich Merz declared the Greens to be the “main opponent” in the federal government – but the CDU leader has since expressed himself somewhat more favorably towards the party. Winfried Kretschmann even sees “very good” chances of a black-green alliance.
Baden-Württemberg’s Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann still believes black-green is a realistic option at the federal level. In an interview with the Web.de News portal, the Green politician rated the chances for such an alliance in Berlin after the next federal election in 2025 as “very good”. “The CDU is a business-oriented party and the core brand of the Greens is environmental and climate policy. We need this connection between ecology and economics,” argued Kretschmann. That’s why he is a convinced supporter of this constellation.
Kretschmann has been at the head of a green-black coalition in Baden-Württemberg since 2016. With regard to the federal CDU’s ongoing sharp criticism of the Greens, the Stuttgart head of government said he found it short-sighted. Kretschmann was also critical of the fact that CDU leader Friedrich Merz declared the Greens to be the main opponents in the federal government last year. “But I don’t have the impression that he continues to support this theory.”
Merz recently explicitly mentioned the SPD and the Greens as possible partners in an email to supporters with a view to future coalition options if an alliance with the FDP was not enough. “Not a particularly tempting prospect, but there must be a majority capable of governing,” he wrote.
With a view to the current demonstrations against the right, Kretschmann warned against distancing oneself from the CDU there. “It’s about protecting the foundations of our democracy; we can’t allow ourselves to be divided by day-to-day political differences,” he emphasized. “The CDU is urgently needed as a strong democratic force against right-wing extremism.” It’s against right-wing radicalism and right-wing extremism. “You can be right-wing – as long as it’s within the framework of the constitutional order.”