SPD announces member consultation on coalition agreement

The SPD wants its members to vote on a possible coalition with the CDU and BSW in Saxony. Should the negotiations lead to a result, the approximately 4,500 members will decide whether a coalition is enough, explained state chairpersons Kathrin Michel and Henning Homann. The outcome of the survey will be binding for the state executive committee. The Social Democrats had already asked their members to vote on the coalition agreement with the CDU and Greens in 2019.

Talks between the CDU, BSW and SPD have been slow so far, meaning that there are still no official coalition negotiations two months after the state elections. The fact that the majority of BSW MPs in the state parliament voted in favor of an AfD motion to set up a parliamentary committee of inquiry into the coronavirus pandemic recently caused displeasure.

The demand by BSW founder Sahra Wagenknecht to include peace policy demands in the preamble of a coalition agreement is also considered a sticking point.

Demand for member consultation also in the CDU

There is also resistance to such an alliance in parts of the CDU in Saxony. The conservative Heimatunion has therefore also called for a survey of its members. It has repeatedly spoken out in favor of a minority government, which CDU state leader and Minister President Michael Kretschmer has so far rejected.

"As the SPD, we are striving for an effective and stable majority government for Saxony," emphasized Michel and Homann. "To this end, we are sitting at the negotiating table with the BSW and CDU." The SPD's aim is to strengthen cohesion in society. Member participation is not only a tradition. "It also makes us strong."

In the state elections on September 1, the CDU was the strongest party in Saxony with 31.9% of the vote, ahead of the AfD (30.6%). As the CDU/CSU has ruled out an alliance with the AfD and the Left Party, the only option for a majority government is an alliance between the CDU, BSW and SPD. A continuation of the current coalition of CDU, Greens and SPD does not have a majority.