By Stephen Peter
A trembling mood prevailed in political Berlin until Sunday afternoon. The big question: What does the SPD vote for? Do the comrades vote for black and red or against the alliance with the CDU?
By Friday evening, exactly 11:59 p.m., more than 18,000 SPD members were allowed to cast their votes. As of Friday morning, 11,451 comrades took part in the member vote. The result will be announced on Sunday around 4 p.m.
The ballot box in the SPD headquarters on Müllerstrasse (Wedding) was ready for last-minute voters on Friday. At lunchtime, members who still wanted to vote trundled in about every ten minutes. Almost everyone voted “No”, they then revealed to the BZ
The SPD state leader already cast her vote at party headquarters on Monday Photo: SPD
“I think a coalition with the CDU is unacceptable and I would definitely like to help ensure that it doesn’t come about,” said Sebastian (37). “The CDU is not a party that contributes to progress in society.” Benjamin (27): “As a member of the SPD, I’m for social politics, that’s less likely with the CDU. I would be for the continuation of red-green-red.”
On the other hand, Ute (54) voted for “Yes”: “The Greens are wrong with their political personnel, they are too radical. That’s why I support the coalition with the CDU.” The Union in Berlin is provincial, “but Kai Wegner is at least not from the far right corner”. Her motto: “Life is a single compromise.”
SPD General Secretary Kevin Kühnert (33) made mood against black and red again. In the portal “The Pioneer” he again reinforced against CDU election winner Kai Wegner (50): “If he should be the governing mayor in the end, then it’s difficult for me as my city of Berlin, as I got to know it, like that how I grew up here.”
What happens if the majority of SPD members vote against black and red?
Three possible scenarios
- The SPD sits down again with the Greens and Left, advises a continuation of the current coalition. Whether Giffey would then remain Governing Mayor – unlikely. She has many opponents in her own party and the left has already made it clear that they no longer want to negotiate with her. Green parliamentary group leader Bettina Jarasch (54) remains diplomatic: “Who the SPD will commission to conduct the conversation in the event of a failed member decision is the decision of the SPD,” she said yesterday in the “Tagesspiegel”.
- The Union does not give up its claim to the Red City Hall. “If the SPD doesn’t want to, we’ll just negotiate with the Greens,” says party headquarters. Many consider this to be the most likely scenario, because the green co-group leader Werner Graf (43) also emphasizes that the door to black and green has not yet been closed. However, the base of the Greens has so far been almost entirely on an anti-CDU course. You could possibly be “convinced” by the high number of senator posts for the Greens – in a three-party coalition there are fewer.
- Giffey wins the power struggle within the party, completes the U-turn to red-green-red and is re-elected to rule. Greens and Left would not be enthusiastic, but have no say in the selection of their coalition partner.