The Interplay of Democratic Governance and State Objectives - Discussion on constitutional alterations: Ampel responds to CDU criticism
Following criticisms from the CDU party on the collaboration between the Rhineland-Palatinate traffic light coalitions regarding potential constitutional adjustments, countermeasures are now being taken. The leader of the FDP party, Philipp Fernis, declared that no agreement has been reached with the CDU party. He added that even the significant topic of lowering the voting age was obstructed by the conservatives. Previous reports indicated reactions from the traffic light coalitions' ranks.
According to Fernis, significant discussions and thorough legal analyses are necessary for alterations to the state constitution. This, however, was not feasible with the CDU party. Thus, it wouldn't be logical to proceed with conversations about this matter in subcommittees. On Wednesday, the vice-chairman of the CDU party responsible for constitutional affairs, Helmut Martin, expressed dissatisfaction, stating he no longer saw cooperation willingness from the traffic light representatives. As a consequence, this opportunity was missed.
Will there be discussions during the next legislative period?
The CDU party, for instance, advocated for the inclusion of a more comprehensive sustainability principle as a state objective, generational justice as a state objective, and less stringent barriers for citizens' initiatives. The CDU's proposals of capping the tenure of future state leaders and impartial supervisors for investigative committees of the state parliament were already dismissed by traffic light politicians last year.
The SPD party responded to inquiries by stating that no agreement has been reached in numerous conversations with the CDU party. Nevertheless, the union is free to submit its proposals for a constitutional amendment as initiatives in the parliamentary process - "exactly as the traffic light coalition did with its proposal to lower the voting age to 16."
Carl-Bernhard von Heusinger, the parliamentary business manager of the Green party, looked towards the future and mentioned: "We could envision having in-depth discussions on alterations to the state constitution during the next election period."
The European Parliament expresses its interest in the ongoing constitutional discussions in Rhineland-Palatinate, given its role in EU member states' affairs. Despite the current impasse between the traffic light coalitions and the CDU party, there's hope for resuming discussions during the next legislative period, as suggested by Carl-Bernhard von Heusinger.
