A coalition of the CDU and SPD in Berlin has cleared a crucial hurdle. In a vote by SPD members, a narrow majority voted in favor of the previously negotiated coalition agreement. According to the SPD state chairwoman Franziska Giffey, 54.3 percent voted in favor.
If there is also a majority at the CDU party conference on Monday, the way is clear for a black-red state government. The CDU state chairman Kai Wegner could then be elected as the first governing mayor of his party in 22 years on Thursday.
Since the beginning of April, the SPD party members have had the opportunity to vote by letter on the black-red alliance. More than 12,000 of the 18,566 voting members voted.
In the Berlin SPD there were many reservations about working with the CDU, also because there was the possibility of continuing the previous tripartite alliance with the Greens and the Left. It has governed the capital since 2016. The three parties together again received a majority in the repeat of the House of Representatives elections in February. However, the CDU was around ten percent ahead of the SPD, which in turn had left the Greens just behind.
The SPD state board opted for coalition negotiations with the CDU. Last but not least, Berlin’s governing mayor and SPD state chairwoman Franziska Giffey campaigned for this and who was willing to give up her previous office for this.
Several district associations and the Jusos, among others, had spoken out very clearly against a black-red coalition. The latter criticized the coalition agreement as “a black corset with red ribbons” and announced that they would only rest once this coalition had been prevented.
