Berlin – The exploratory talks before the start of coalition negotiations to form a new Berlin state government are drawing to a close. In the past few days, there have also been unusual constellations. So on Thursday the Greens and the FDP came together for an exploratory discussion for the first time. It was one of the last bilateral talks, from now on only three-way talks are to take place, after all, Berlin also needs a three-way coalition in order to be able to govern.
On Friday, the election winners SPD (1st place) and Greens (2nd place) want to evaluate the previous discussions and then set the course for the next few days. Both want to advise independently of one another about which other parties they will have further exploratory talks with in a three-way constellation. A corresponding decision by the party committees could be decisive for subsequent coalition negotiations, even if the exploratory talks can still fail. It is considered certain that negotiations will only take place for a three-party alliance. It is becoming more and more apparent that a red-yellow-green government, the so-called traffic light, unlike in the federal government, is not a particularly likely option for Berlin.
Green negotiator Bettina Jarasch spoke on Thursday after the exploration with the FDP of “an open and interesting conversation”. But in terms of content “it would of course be long distances that we would have to go”. In other words: There are many points where the ideas are far apart – so far that the distance may possibly be unbridgeable. A clear and unambiguous statement in favor of a traffic light certainly sounds different.
Christoph Meyer also used the image of a path that still had to be followed in his assessment. It would be “at one point or another to go a way” to come together, said the FDP boss. Meyer left unanswered whether this path might be too far, and whether a joint government including a third partner would be impossible. But he said that the election programs of the SPD and CDU had more in common with that of the FDP than could be said of the Greens program. That was said even before the election, and it still applies today.
Berliner Zeitung / Paulus Ponizak
FDP explorers with three- and multi-day beards: (from left) Paul Fresdorf, Christoph Meyer and Sebastian Czaja.
Meyer said something similar the day before, when the Liberals met with the SPD. Meyer then stood in front of the microphones and made it clear that the FDP clearly preferred the so-called Germany coalition made up of the SPD, CDU and FDP.
On the occasion, Meyer also made it clear that the talks on the formation of a coalition in the federal government have no impact on the explorations in Berlin. The dynamism with which all the signs have been placed on a red-yellow-green traffic light there for days is of course noticed at the state level. You work “not in a vacuum” and are in constant contact with the Federal FDP anyway, but the decisions are made in Berlin alone and independently. Nevertheless, the Berlin parliamentary group leader Sebastian Czaja said after the conversation with the Greens: “That could be the beginning of a new start.” Could be.
CDU boss Kai Wegner also pointed out again on Wednesday that the SPD and FDP have the greatest overlaps in terms of content – a clear preference for the German coalition. On the other hand, he lacks the imagination to work with the Greens. At least on this point, the Greens and the CDU are likely to agree, Wegner said. This would mean that the red-black-green (Kenya coalition) or green-black-yellow (Jamaica coalition) color games, which were unlikely from day one, would be off the table.
But what does the SPD actually say, the election winner, the one with the voter mandate to form a government, which must invite to formal coalition negotiations? If there was a green-black exploratory premiere on Wednesday and a green-yellow exploratory premiere on Thursday, the Social Democrats met one after the other with two old acquaintances: the Left and the CDU. The Berlin SPD has 15 years of joint government experience with the Left Party (2001 to 2011 and 2016 to now); the SPD has ruled together with the CDU in various senates over the past decades, most recently from 2011 to 2016 under the leadership of Klaus Wowereit and Michael Müller . Even if the designated Governing Mayoress Franziska Giffey was not involved in any of these governments, one could therefore know what one has in whom.
Giffey reacted accordingly cautiously on Wednesday to the advance of the FDP towards the German coalition. “The FDP has to see for itself who it is exploring with. In the end everyone has to find their way, ”she said.
In fact, however, a red-black-yellow mind game haunts the ranks of the SPD. Above all, the numerically strong party left assume that their top wife has a tendency towards the German coalition and instead try to commit them to a red-green-red alliance.
Berlin Left: “We are not dependent. We can also go into the opposition “
The Greens as well as the left have been ready for this for months. While the Greens broke new ground in the past few days, the left has become noticeably quiet in these colorful days. Red-green-red is actually the only option for the left, after all, no other party wants to form a coalition with them – which is based on reciprocity.
The left have had three talks so far, two with the SPD and one with the Greens. Party leader Katina Schubert does not want to reveal anything to the Berliner Zeitung about the content. “Friendly, constructive and factually oriented,” they said. Now she hopes “that we will go into a three-way exploration as soon as possible, that is of course also part of it.”
At the same time, Schubert would like to avoid the impression that the left are dependent on the goodwill of the SPD and the Greens, whereas they have several options. “What does dependent mean?” Asks Schubert rhetorically that the party is not dependent on government participation. “We can do both! We can also be a strong opposition. “
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