BERLIN, April 26 (Xinhua) -- The state of Berlin will be governed by a "Grand Coalition" of Social Democrats (SPD) and Conservatives (CDU), which also led Germany under former chancellor Angela Merkel. The two parties signed their coalition agreement on Wednesday.

Following a landslide victory for the CDU with 28.2 percent of the votes in a repeat election in February, the conservative party is returning from the opposition benches to co-lead the new government. The goal is to "achieve what is best for Berlin," said Mayor-elect Kai Wegner.

Wegner, who is also the state chairman of the CDU, is to be elected as the new governing mayor in Berlin's House of Representatives on Thursday.

The SPD had suffered heavy losses at the state election, and barely came in second with 18.4 percent, only 53 votes ahead of the Greens. After leading the Berlin government for more than 20 years, the party lost voter confidence over numerous scandals, and has now been relegated to the role of junior partner.

The original election that took place in 2021 had to be repeated due to significant electoral glitches. Many voters were unable to cast their ballots in time, while other votes were declared invalid.

Due to other major events that were taking place at the same time, including the national Bundestag election, there were very long queues at the polling stations.

The result of the repeat election clearly reflected voters' dissatisfaction with the old state government. German media widely labeled it a "protest vote" against the SPD's alliance with the Greens and the Left Party.

Forschungsgruppe Wahlen, a German association focused on election analysis, found that policy scores for a government had "rarely been lower."

The Berlin government's reshuffle will also be a warning for Germany's national government. According to recent national polls, the CDU would currently be the clear winner against Chancellor Olaf Scholz's SPD in a Bundestag election, with more than 30 percent of the votes. Enditem

Related

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)