Coalition agreement between CDU and SPD: signing on Monday

State government - Coalition agreement between CDU and SPD: signing on Monday

By agreeing to the coalition agreement, the CDU and SPD have paved the way for the future black-red coalition government in Hesse. At party conferences on Saturday, they voted in favor of the coalition agreement, which is to be signed this Monday (December 18) in Wiesbaden. Among the Social Democrats, the vote was preceded by a long and controversial debate.

At an extraordinary SPD party conference in Groß-Umstadt near Darmstadt, there were 253 votes in favor, 56 against and 8 abstentions. The government program for the years 2024 to 2029 was thus adopted with 81.9 percent. A parallel small CDU party conference in Frankfurt with 133 delegates had previously adopted the paper after a very short debate and with a large majority. There were 132 votes in favor, one vote against and no abstentions. This corresponds to an approval rate of more than 99 percent.

"This is a treaty that brings things together," said Hesse's Minister President Boris Rhein (CDU). The promises made in the CDU election manifesto would be kept. It is a policy that strengthens the majority and still protects minorities. In view of the many current crises, many people are disappointed and frightened, said Rhein. They had the feeling that democracy was not delivering on a central promise, namely a policy for the majority of people in the country. Rhein called for citizens' trust in politics and democracy to be restored.

An important point in the coalition agreement is the topic of migration, said Rhein. "Here, too, we have a clear edge. The CDU/CSU has made clear statements here. But - and this is the difference to others - without foaming at the mouth and in particular without pandering to radical forces," he emphasized. The CDU is acting because irregular migration must be significantly limited.

Rhein explained that in future, only immigrants with prospects of remaining in Germany would be allocated to local authorities. Specific integration obligations would be enshrined in the Integration Act - such as a clear commitment to the fight against anti-Semitism and Israel's right to exist.

The Minister President declared that he was fed up with the way police officers were treated in the country. He announced a package that included tougher penalties for attacks on officers. As a "painful point" in the coalition agreement, Rhein said that there would also be no CDU-led Ministry of Economics in the future cabinet.

SPD state leader Nancy Faeser described the black-red coalition as a "community of responsibility". The envisaged government alliance is not a "love match", said the Federal Minister of the Interior in Groß-Umstadt. For example, the coalition agreement formulated goals in refugee policy "that are extremely painful". But for the SPD, not joining the state government would mean being able to do less for migrants. At the same time, there is also a lot of social democratic handwriting in the 184-page paper, for example in social, housing and labor market policy.

SPD member of state parliament Bijan Kaffenberger explained on Sunday that he and his party colleague Anne Marquardt had voted in favor of the coalition agreement. "In future, we will take responsibility in the state government for social cohesion in difficult times." On the basis of the coalition agreement, support will be provided to local authorities for the operating costs of daycare centers and investments in hospitals and medical care centers.

There was a lot of criticism of the agreement at the SPD party conference, for example due to narrow guidelines for migration or the planned ban on special gender symbols in schools and universities. One non-binary person said that they should "no longer be allowed". However, a gender ban would presumably be unconstitutional anyway. The regional head of the Young Socialists, Lukas Schneider, also reiterated his rejection of the coalition agreement. Numerous other speakers also complained that there was too little social democratic DNA in the government program.

After a quarter of a century on the opposition bench, the Hessian SPD is entering the black-red coalition as a junior partner. In the state elections on October 8, it received 15.1 percent of the vote, less than half that of the CDU (34.6 percent). The new state parliament in Wiesbaden will be constituted on January 18. The Christian Democrats are to receive eight ministries and the Social Democrats three. The names of the future heads of department are to be announced at the beginning of 2024.