After the Hessian CDU decided to change government, the Christian Democrats and SPD are turning their attention to coalition negotiations. After committee meetings of both parties this Monday, the joint talks are scheduled to begin behind closed doors on Tuesday. They want to sign a black-red coalition agreement before Christmas.
The party council and state executive committee of the SPD unanimously decided on Friday evening in Kassel to start coalition talks with the CDU. CDU state leader and Prime Minister Boris Rhein had previously declared that he wanted to start negotiations with the SPD. So far, the CDU has ruled in Hesse with the Greens – for around a decade. The CDU clearly won the state elections in October.
According to CDU federal leader Friedrich Merz, the CDU’s decision for the SPD is not a preliminary decision for coalitions at the federal level. It is initially about a decision by the Hessian CDU “due to the Hessian challenges that exist for a future state government there,” said Merz in the “Interview of the Week” on Deutschlandfunk, which will be broadcast on Sunday. He is sure that Rhein made a wise decision. “However, I also want to say that for the federal party this is not a preliminary decision in one direction or the other.”
Rhein had declared on Friday afternoon: “We as the CDU want to attempt to form a government in Hesse with the SPD, with the Social Democrats, and work together in a Christian-social coalition for the first time in 70 years.” They want to write a program with the SPD that combines reason and progress. “A program for common sense in dealing with migration. Prudent, never foaming at the mouth.”
He justified the decision for the SPD with larger overlaps. Rhein referred to the current many crises. “Today the focus is on issues where we have to form a coalition from the center” – such as refugees and internal security. The Greens approached the CDU in the explorations. “But in the end it wasn’t enough,” explained Rhein. The CDU’s rejection of the Greens was a “really difficult decision emotionally.” The Greens were bitterly disappointed.
The Greens, Social Democrats and Liberals all lost votes in Hesse on October 8th compared to the 2018 state election. The CDU is ruling out cooperation with the significantly strengthened AfD. The new Wiesbaden state parliament will be constituted on January 18, 2024.
