Red-Black coalition in Hesse agrees on coalition agreement

Parties - Red-Black coalition in Hesse agrees on coalition agreement

A good two months after the state elections in Hesse, the CDU and SPD have agreed on a coalition agreement. This was revealed to the German Press Agency by party circles on Thursday morning. This had previously been reported by other media. The 184-page draft of the coalition agreement with the motto "One for all" is available to dpa.

This Saturday (December 16), the CDU and SPD want to vote on the paper - the Christian Democrats at a meeting of their state committee in Frankfurt and the Social Democrats at a party conference in Groß-Umstadt in southern Hesse. The coalition agreement could then be signed next Monday (December 18), as Minister President Boris Rhein (CDU) recently said in an interview with the German Press Agency in Wiesbaden.

In the past decade, Hesse has been led by a black-green government. The CDU won the state elections on October 8 by a clear margin, after which it was able to choose comfortably between the Greens and the SPD as coalition partners. After exploratory talks, the CDU/CSU opted for a basket for the Greens in favor of the first CDU/SPD coalition led by the CDU in the state's history.

The draft agreement as a government program for the years 2024 to 2029 begins by listing various challenges such as the war in Ukraine, Hamas terror, the "economic and migration crisis" and climate change: "Never before have there been so many at once." It goes on to say: "We will overcome these challenges together - or not at all." A "broad Hesse coalition" will be formed for this purpose.

The detailed draft agreement is essentially based on a joint key issues paper by both parties from November. For example, the new "Hesse Agreement" includes the announcement of an increased educational offer from daycare centers and schools to craft banks and university lecture halls. The multi-tier school system is to be retained and the number of teachers increased.

The "Hesse Agreement" also states: "We will ensure greater security with more police officers." The CDU and SPD are committed to the right to asylum, but also speak of a "breaking point". Therefore, irregular migration should be significantly limited and at the same time the integration of refugees with the right to stay should be strengthened.

Black-Red is also sticking to a controversial announcement: "We will stipulate that public administration and other state and public institutions (such as schools, universities, broadcasting) will refrain from using special characters to indicate gender and will be guided by the German Spelling Council."

Rhein had said that the coalition negotiations with the SPD had been "very constructive and exceptionally pleasant in terms of atmosphere". The broad process with around 200 participants in more than a dozen working groups had proved its worth. The SPD's state leader, Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser, also took part.

The draft coalition agreement also states: "The CDU will provide the Minister President." The incumbent Rhein is expected to be re-elected in Wiesbaden. According to the draft agreement, the SPD will provide the deputy head of the state government.

The ministries will be reorganized accordingly. Most of them will go to the election winner, the CDU, including the interior, finance and education ministries as well as a new ministry for agriculture and the environment, viticulture, forestry, hunting and homeland. As the junior partner, the SPD will receive a super ministry for the economy, energy, transport, housing and rural areas, the ministry for labor and social affairs as well as the ministry for science and culture.

The names of the future ministers will not be made public until the future - possibly only after the party conferences this Saturday. The new 21st Hessian state parliament will be constituted in Wiesbaden on January 18, 2024.