KIEL (dpa-AFX) – Prime Minister Daniel Günther (CDU) has been leading the first black-green state government in Schleswig-Holstein since Wednesday. The 48-year-old was confirmed for a second term with the votes of the CDU and the Greens. In his new cabinet, the CDU has six ministers, the Greens three. The new head of the social department, Aminata Touré (Greens/29), is the first Afro-German minister, Economics Minister Claus Ruhe Madsen (non-party/49), previously mayor in Rostock, the first Dane with ministerial rank.
The day before, Günther’s party friend Hendrik Wüst had been elected the first prime minister of a black-green coalition in North Rhine-Westphalia in Düsseldorf. In Kiel, Günther received 47 votes and thus all of the CDU and Greens MPs present. The four representatives of the SSW abstained, SPD and FDP voted against Günther.
“I will carry out this office with humility and respect,” said Günther. He spoke of challenging times. “We have big tasks ahead of us for Schleswig-Holstein in the next five years.” The coalition has ambitious goals and is in a spirit of optimism. After being sworn in, Günther appointed his ministers. “We know we have big goals in our luggage, heavy stones,” said Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Monika Heinold (Greens). Black-Green see themselves as a climate coalition.
The newly tailored Ministry of Justice and Health will be taken over by the lawyer Kerstin von der Decken (CDU). She was a member of the state government’s Corona Expert Council. With Werner Schwarz (CDU), the long-standing President of the State Farmers’ Association is now Minister of Agriculture. For the first time in a long time, this area was separated from the Ministry of the Environment, which triggered massive criticism.
The CDU politicians Karin Prien and Sabine Sütterlin-Waack will continue to lead the ministries of education and interior affairs. The Greens occupy the finance, social affairs and environment/energy departments with Heinold, Touré and Tobias Goldschmidt. With Dirk Schrödter – in the future in the rank of minister – the CDU also provides the head of the state chancellery. The cabinet members were sworn in in the state parliament in the afternoon.
Günther thanked the retired FDP ministers Heiner Garg (health) and Bernd Buchholz (economy). The farewell gave rise to an ambivalent feeling and also melancholy.
The CDU clearly won the state elections on May 8 with 43.4 percent ahead of the Greens (18.3 percent). The leaders of the CDU and Greens officially signed the coalition agreement on Tuesday.
“I come here with the expectation that I will also bring people forward here,” said Economics Minister Madsen. The challenges are great. “Here we have to roll up our sleeves and really achieve something.” The aim is to strengthen the economy and relations with Denmark. “Of course I want the country to quickly become a green industrial country.”
SPD parliamentary group leader Thomas Losse-Müller said after Günther’s election that black-green got their votes together. “There were enough compromises, including formula compromises – but this majority of votes cannot hide the fact that there are still no solutions for the country.”
SSW faction leader Lars Harms gave Günther a bottle of Danish whiskey after his re-election, along with the words: “The government can also drink with such a drink.”/wsz/akl/DP/zb