Is the “German coalition” an option for the federal government?

It wasn’t really planned that way. The liberals in Saxony-Anhalt did not want to give themselves up as a “spare wheel” for a black-red coalition – FDP state chief Lydia Hüskens had declared that on the evening of the state elections at the beginning of June.

Theoretically, the Free Democrats in the Magdeburg state parliament are not needed to govern. Union and SPD have exactly the required majority with 49 seats. Nevertheless, there will soon be a so-called Germany coalition made up of the CDU, Social Democrats and Liberals – named after the party colors black, red and yellow. If the respective base of the three parties agrees, the previous Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff (CDU) is to be re-elected in the state parliament on September 16.

This was agreed in “extremely long meetings” over the past few weeks, said CDU country chief Sven Schulze on Monday. Negotiations took up to 16 hours in some cases, until late at night – a tough fight, as all three parties emphasize.

Main winner FDP

A “German coalition” in the east would be a novelty. The last state government of this kind was in Saarland in 1959. Would that also be a model for the federal government?

It was not easy for the three parties to put together the 150-page coalition agreement. Above all, there was a dispute over the ministries’ layout. For example, the CDU had to cede responsibility for regional development and transport to the FDP. She will also be responsible for digitization. The SPD gets the social department and the ministry for science, climate, environment and energy. In addition to the State Chancellery, the Union takes on the finance and economic departments, as well as justice, home affairs, education and agriculture.

An agreement has also been reached on a “Corona special fund” worth 1.5 billion euros to cushion the consequences of the crisis. As a lesson from the pandemic, the reduction of bureaucracy should also be promoted. “The term de-bureaucratisation appears in almost every chapter in this coalition agreement,” said Hüskens on Monday. Your party has thus pushed through a liberal core issue – and is getting its own ministry on top.

This is not the only reason why the FDP can feel like the main winner three months after the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt. After ten years of extra-parliamentary opposition, the free democrats moved back into the state parliament in June. The result of 6.4 percent was not really intoxicating, with seven MPs the FDP is the second smallest parliamentary group. Nevertheless, the Liberals will probably co-rule, which also has to do with a little luck – and with an internal CDU dispute.

The goal: to govern stably

The Union did not want to risk simply governing with the SPD and a very small majority. The party has been deeply divided in Saxony-Anhalt since Prime Minister Haseloff dismissed his Interior Minister Holger Stahlknecht (CDU) at the end of 2020 in a dispute over the level of broadcasting fees and how to deal with AfD positions. That is why the FDP was brought on board as a safeguard – so that those who deviate from the right-wing CDU do not blow up the government at the next opportunity. “The CDU campaigned very emphatically for the FDP,” says Hüskens. “Not to have a comfortable majority, but to be able to rule stably.”

The federal party is delighted that the FDP is needed as a government partner in Saxony-Anhalt. The election year is also about symbolism: the liberals are somebody again. “Good news for digitization and freedom,” tweeted FDP leader Christian Lindner about the Magdeburg agreement with the CDU and SPD. “At the same time, a new variant of the formation of a government that you will perhaps see more often.” For FDP General Secretary Volker Wissing, the “German coalition” in Saxony-Anhalt is “a strong signal and good tailwind for the federal election”. State chief Hüskens, who is also a member of the FDP federal executive board, sees this as a “further opportunity in the federal government”.

There is great interest in the FDP in drawing attention to the “German coalition”. The party knows that the FDP is elected by its supporters primarily for co-government – and not so that it can go to waste on the opposition bench. The more power prospects they have, the better the free democrats can mobilize voters.

In addition, the possibility of a black-red-yellow alliance can drown out the “Jamaica” and “traffic light” debates in the federal election campaign. In both cases, the FDP would have to work with the Greens. For many FDP people, just the thought of it triggers at least gnashing of teeth. A coalition with the desired partner CDU, supplemented by the SPD, would be closer to many liberals. With CDU leader Armin Laschet, the FDP has governed NRW since 2017. The SPD chancellor candidate Olaf Scholz, who is known as a pragmatist, does not enjoy a bad reputation among the Free Democrats either.

Nevertheless, there are probably major hurdles in the federal government for a “German coalition”. From the FDP’s point of view, these are mainly with the Social Democrats. From the left party leadership to demands such as the wealth tax – the SPD, at least under its current federal leadership, is in many ways a red rag for the liberals. At the state level, one hears again and again in the FDP, one can work together earlier.

It is in any case questionable whether the SPD would be willing to form a “German coalition” in the federal government. Only with great difficulty did the comrades bring themselves to join the grand coalition three years ago. To continue, so to speak, and then to bring the FDP in – the SPD leadership could hardly convey that to the party base. Even if she wanted to.