Schwerin: SPD, Left and Greens open coalition talks with seven working groups
Negotiations on a red-red-green coalition begin in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The alliance would hold 39 of 71 seats. Schwesig must be re-elected by 17 November at the latest.
Archive image · Photo: User:Kolossos / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped and resized)
Coalition negotiations between the SPD, the Left and the Greens begin this Monday in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. A small Green party convention in Rostock cleared the way on Saturday. A main group of top representatives from the three parties will lead the talks, supported by seven working groups covering areas such as finance and digitalisation, economy and energy, education, and interior and municipalities. In the new 71-seat state parliament the SPD has 29 seats and the Left and Greens five each – 39 in total, three more than needed for a majority. The AfD is the strongest party with 32 seats but the only opposition.
"We want to be more than an alliance of three parties," said SPD state leader Manuela Schwesig, who wants to remain premier. Green lead candidate Claudia Müller said: "Now the work begins." According to the exploratory paper, 1.9 billion euros from the special fund are to go into an "MV Plan" by 2035, childcare is to stay free and all hospital sites are to be preserved. At the Left's request, an inquiry committee on far-right networks is planned. The parliament convenes on 20 October; the premier must be elected by 17 November.