Blackberry probe to begin on Tuesday

The exploratory talks for a so-called Brombeer coalition of CDU, BSW and SPD in Saxony are to begin on Tuesday. The "Leipziger Volkszeitung" reported that the negotiators want to take a total of three weeks to explore the possibilities of forming a government. Successful exploratory talks would then be followed by coalition negotiations.

The state executive committees of the CDU/CSU, the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance and the Social Democrats had each voted in favor of the exploratory talks. Prior to this, there had been several meetings to get to know each other, which resulted in a position paper. In it, the potential partners had set out a whole range of common issues - for example in education policy, health and care or easing the burden on agriculture.

Controversial points between the parties

The exploratory talks are to form thematic groups dedicated to individual policy areas. Points that are still controversial will also be examined in detail. These include, for example, the creation of a Saxon border police force, which is supported by the CDU. The SPD is pushing for more investment in education and infrastructure. For the BSW, peace policy remains the central issue in the exploratory talks.

In the state elections on September 1, the CDU was the strongest party with 31.9 percent of the vote, ahead of the AfD (30.6 percent). As the CDU categorically rules out an alliance with the AfD and the Left Party, only an alliance between the CDU, BSW (11.8%) and SPD (7.3%) is an option for a majority government. A continuation of the old coalition of CDU, Greens (5.1%) and SPD is not enough.

The possible government alliance of CDU, BSW and SPD is called a blackberry because the fruit can be black, purple or red depending on its ripeness. These are the colors of the three parties involved.