As per reports from “Bild”, the breakthrough in the coalition negotiations in Hessen was achieved on Wednesday night. The 184-page agreement between CDU and SPD in Hessen is titled “One for All”.
CDU and SPD reach agreement on coalition contract in Hessen
According to “Bild”, the CDU was allocated eight ministries, including the State Chancellery, while the SPD was allocated three ministries, including a significant one for Transport and Economy.
Furthermore, the CDU will rename the Ministry of the Interior and add the term “homeland protection” in the future. CDU and SPD are set to vote on the document this Saturday (December 16th) – the Christian Democrats during a meeting of their state committee in Frankfurt and the Social Democrats at a party conference in Groß-Umstadt in southern Hesse.
Subsequently, the coalition contract could be signed on the following Monday (December 18th), as stated by Minister President Boris Rhein (CDU) in a recent interview with the Deutsche Presse-Agentur in Wiesbaden.
Rhein refers to “constructive” negotiations
For the past decade, Hessen was governed by a black-green coalition. The CDU won the state election on October 8th and was able to comfortably choose between the Greens and the SPD as a coalition partner. Following exploratory talks, the Union decided not to continue working with the Greens, but to pursue a black-red government coalition.
Rhein mentioned that the coalition negotiations with the SPD were “very constructive and exceptionally pleasant in atmosphere”. The broad process, involving about 200 participants in over a dozen working groups, has proven successful.
