fAccording to FAZ information, ranziska Giffey, Governing Mayor of Berlin, wants to propose coalition negotiations with the CDU to the SPD state executive this Wednesday. If the board does not agree to the proposal, Giffey will resign as SPD state chairman, it is said. However, approval by the board, which meets in the afternoon, is considered likely.
For the SPD politician, a coalition with the CDU would mean that she herself cannot remain governing mayor; the office would probably fall to CDU top candidate Kai Wegner. The CDU won the election on February 12 with 28.2 percent; The SPD and the Greens followed with 18.4 percent each, with the SPD only 53 votes ahead of the Greens.
Left SPD wing wants to continue red-green-red
By continuing the previous coalition with the Greens and the Left, Giffey could have stayed in Berlin’s Red City Hall. Giffey had said she wasn’t glued to her chair. She had rejected the demand of the left for the expropriation of private housing companies. The left wing of the Berlin SPD, on the other hand, wants to continue red-green-red. But the Berlin SPD lacks a personnel alternative.
Opponents of a black-red alliance in the Berlin SPD could try to stop it with an early state party conference. Secretary General Kevin Kühnert, who has great influence in the Berlin state association, had campaigned for red-green-red from the federal level.
But there are also considerations of a ballot by the Berlin SPD members, which would probably go in favor of black and red. In recent days there has been speculation that Giffey could continue to serve in a black and red Senate as a “super senator” with a particularly influential department.
The CDU had initially shown sympathy for an alliance with the Greens; however, the soundings revealed major differences with the Greens in many policy areas such as transport and home affairs, while there was much agreement with the SPD.
CDU and Greens talked
Late on Tuesday evening, the third and last meeting of the CDU and the Greens ended the exploratory phase in which the parties wanted to find out with whom coalition talks seemed promising and with whom a joint government later appeared possible. After the eight-and-a-half-hour meeting, neither CDU state chief Wegner nor the Greens’ top candidate Bettina Jarasch gave any indication as to who they would like to start coalition negotiations with.
Wegner said the talks were very solution-oriented. The two exploratory teams found many things in common, for example in the areas of education, health, science, but also financial policy.
Jarasch said: “We were actually able to solve the really big chunks.” According to her, this included the question of the controversial further construction of the Autobahn 100 and dealing with the successful referendum on the expropriation of large housing companies in Berlin. She did not give any details.
Jarasch surprised by SPD
Jarasch said about the reports on the SPD state board meeting this Wednesday: “We were surprised by this step by the SPD leadership. It also does not correspond to the course and results of our previous talks with our current coalition partners.”
According to Wegner, the CDU state executive is to be convened on Thursday to discuss the topic of coalition negotiations. The Greens are planning a small party conference on this issue on Tuesday.