Five days after the repeat elections to the Berlin House of Representatives, exploratory talks on forming a government have begun. Representatives of the election winner, the CDU, first met with delegations from the SPD and then the Greens on Friday to find out whether there is a common basis for starting coalition negotiations and a common government.
After their three-and-a-half-hour meeting, the CDU and SPD announced that they wanted to continue talking on Monday. CDU top candidate Kai Wegner and the Governing Mayor Franziska Giffey (SPD) spoke of a constructive and honest discussion as well as common intersections. The meeting of the CDU with the Greens began in the afternoon and was to last into the evening.
CDU top candidate Kai Wegner wants to try to forge a two-party coalition with the SPD or the Greens, he wants to move into the town hall as head of government. “We are looking, on the way, to form a stable Berlin coalition,” said Wegner. “We have two options for stable coalitions in Berlin: black-red and black-green. We are considering both, we think both are realistic and feasible.”
exit still open
It remains to be seen whether a government will be formed under the leadership of the victorious CDU, because the previous alliance of SPD, Greens and Left would also have a majority in the new House of Representatives. The three partners therefore also want to conduct exploratory talks among themselves. If red-green-red continues in Berlin, Giffey, who has been in power since December 2021, could remain in office.
At their exploratory meeting, the CDU and SPD initially spoke, according to Wegner and Giffey, about dealing with each other and about the election campaign, in which there were harsh verbal arguments. Then it was about important issues for the city such as administrative reform, mobility, affordable housing and internal security. Since other issues had not yet been addressed, deliberations would continue next week.
The CDU clearly won the repeat election on Sunday after the preliminary result with 28.2 percent. SPD and Greens both got 18.4 percent. With 105 votes, the Social Democrats only have a wafer-thin lead over the Greens. The left came to 12.2 percent, the AfD to 9.1. The FDP flew out of parliament with 4.6 percent.
