U-turn by the CDU leader?
Merz gives black and green a chance to form a coalition
February 4, 2024, 1:21 p.m
CDU party leader Friedrich Merz is actually known for opposing the Greens and their political goals. But with a view to a possible coalition partner after the 2025 federal election, he is also considering the Greens. The only thing that is ruled out is a coalition with the AfD.
The CDU chairman Friedrich Merz is keeping coalitions with the SPD, the FDP or the Greens open for the period after the next federal election – under the leadership of his party. The only thing that is ruled out is a coalition with the AfD: “As a right-wing radical party, it stands outside every conceivable spectrum for us,” wrote the CDU leader in his weekly newsletter “MerzMail” published on Saturday evening.
The party leader emphasized that the Union would not commit to a coalition partner before the election. Merz stated that his goal was for the CDU to be at least twice as strong as the SPD and the Greens in the next Bundestag. The party would then be in a good position to implement a “policy change” in Germany.
There should be no firm coalition statement before the election. “Even a coalition must not be left without alternatives,” wrote Merz. If the Union could then hold coalition talks with several potential partners after the election, this would make it possible to “explore the best success in the interests of the CDU”.
Black-green and green-black alliances
There are currently black-green coalitions in several federal states: Since 2016, a green-black alliance under Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann of the Greens has governed Baden-Württemberg. Under CDU Prime Minister Daniel Günter, there was government cooperation between both parties in Schleswig-Holstein in the last and current legislative periods. In May 2022, a black-green coalition replaced the previous Jamaica alliance made up of the CDU, Greens and FDP, also under Günther’s leadership.
Since May 2022, a black-green coalition of the CDU and the Greens has been in power under Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst of the most populous state in the republic, North Rhine-Westphalia. In Brandenburg and Saxony, the two parties also govern together – in three-party coalitions with the SPD.
“Not a particularly tempting prospect”
Merz referred to the Hessian CDU, which negotiated with the SPD and the Greens “in a ratio of two to one” after the state elections in the fall and ultimately asserted its signature in the government alliance with the SPD. It was right at the time that the Hesse CDU did not rule out a coalition with the Greens from the outset – as many members had demanded.
In his newsletter, however, the CDU leader indicated a clear preference for a coalition with the FDP. With it “a bourgeois coalition could most likely be realized,” he wrote, but added: “It is questionable, however, whether it will survive as a party.” If that weren’t the case, only the SPD and the Greens would remain. “Not a particularly tempting prospect,” wrote Merz, “but there must be a majority capable of governing.”