Conservatives to start tricky coalition talks after Berlin vote rerun

Berlin, Feb 13, (dpa/GNA) – Berlin’s conservative mayoral candidate, Kai Wegner, will launch efforts to form a government later on Monday, after his Christian Democrats won the rerun of the state’s elections, yet it was unclear if he can oust the Social Democrat (SPD) incumbent.

Voters had returned to the polls on Sunday for a repeat of the 2021 city-state elections, after the Berlin Constitutional Court overturned the initial outcome due to serious flaws.

The rerun could shake up Berlin’s political make-up, and have national ramifications too, after the Christian Democrats (CDU) achieved their best state election result in two decades, winning 28.2% of the vote on Sunday.

The SPD meanwhile, the party of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, fell to 18.4%, its worst result in Berlin since 1950. SPD mayor Franziska Giffey currently heads a coalition with the Greens and the far-left Die Linke.

Berlin counts as one of Germany’s 16 states.

Wegner said he would hold initial exploratory talks on Monday evening, with a view to launching formal coalition negotiations this week or next.

“Now is not the time for tacticians, now is the time for doers,” he told dpa. The outcome of the vote put his party in the lead to form a government, he stressed.

The CDU could form a majority with the Greens or the Social Democrats, however both parties have so far indicated that they would prefer to continue their current coalition. Analysts predict that lengthy coalition talks could lie ahead.

The Greens emerged narrowly behind the SPD, with 18.4%, but 105 fewer votes. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) increased its share of the vote to 9.1%, while the Free Democrats – who are also in the federal government, failed to pass the 5% hurdle for the state parliament.

GNA