Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
Schwerin: coalition negotiations begin – “chemistry is right”
Manuela Schwesig (SPD, left), the Prime Minister of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, and Simone Oldenburg, the parliamentary leader of the Left in the state parliament. Photo: Jens Büttner / dpa-Zentralbild / dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
Two negotiators, many projects: The SPD and the Left in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania want to create nothing less than a “departure in 2030”. The coalition negotiations began on Friday.
The coalition negotiations between the SPD and the Left in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania began on Friday in Schwerin – just under three weeks after the state elections.
The main round met for an initial two-hour discussion to set the timetable and set up seven working groups for the individual policy areas. Then the two top representatives Manuela Schwesig (SPD) and Simone Oldenburg (left) appeared smiling in front of the cameras. They praised the professional and positive atmosphere of the conversation.
“The exploratory talks were good, the start today was good,” said the SPD state chairwoman and Prime Minister Schwesig. The parliamentary group leader of the Left in the state parliament, Simone Oldenburg, added in the joint press conference: “The chemistry is right.” There is a basis of trust.
The working groups with representatives from both parties should start work on the weekend. “We don’t want to waste any time,” said Schwesig. The results would then be negotiated to the end in the main round with five representatives each from the SPD and the left. On the part of the SPD, in addition to Schwesig, it includes energy minister Christian level, finance minister Reinhard Meyer, parliamentary group leader Thomas Krüger and SPD general secretary Julian Barlen.
Dietmar Bartsch negotiates with
For the Left, Oldenburg, the two state chairmen Wenke Brüdgam and Torsten Koplin, the chairman of the Bundestag parliamentary group, Dietmar Bartsch and the party’s interior expert, Peter Ritter, are at the negotiating table. Ritter was not present at the opening meeting on Friday.
According to Schwesig, the main round will meet next Wednesday afternoon. It will deal with the topics of finance and administration. On Friday next week, the extensive topic of digitization, building, energy, housing, infrastructure and transport will be on the agenda. It will continue like this in the next few weeks.
The coalition negotiations are planned to be concluded by mid-November. According to the state constitution, a new prime minister must be elected in the state parliament by 23 November at the latest. Before that, the coalition agreement has to be approved by party congresses of the SPD and the left.
Schwesig spoke of a joint departure in 2030, which the SPD and the Left are planning. Although the legislative period only lasted until 2026, decisions would have to be made that would last until the end of the decade. It’s about a good economy, good work and good wages, social cohesion and environmental protection.
Schwesig and Oldenburg named among other things a law for the award of public contracts only to companies that pay according to tariff, a climate protection law, a 365-euro annual ticket for senior citizens in local transport in the northeast, a nationwide on-call bus system as well as the advancement of the hydrogen economy and climate-neutral ones as central projects «Green» business parks.
When asked whether the future state government will have more women than men for the first time, Schwesig said that personnel issues would be resolved at the very end of the coalition talks. “But I think it is also a bit of a new beginning that two negotiators are here and that will also be good for the country.”