From Hildburg Bruns
Search: coalition partner. First dates of election winner Kai Wegner (50, CDU). First with the red group around Franziska Giffey (44, SPD), then with the green group around Bettina Jarasch (54).
Everyone has six or seven negotiators and two recorders. Otherwise: Close the doors in the café at the water tower on the EUREF site (Schoeneberg). At this stage of the initial checkout, employees must also remain outside. Later, when formally negotiating a government program, the rounds get much larger.
After three and a half hours of statements in the usual political language:
► For Giffey, the SPD/CDU talks were “intense, honest, reflective”. For Wegner: “Good, constructive. That was okay for us.” Enthusiasm sounds different.
Kai Wegner (50, middle) came with Frank Balzer, Manja Schreiner, Katharina Günther-Wünsch, Stefan Evers (from left) Photo: David’s
► For Jarasch, the Greens/CDU talks were exciting, open, serious, with interesting similarities. For Wegner, “above all we looked ahead”. He also said: “Trust has to develop”, we also laughed together.
The atmosphere? Rather tense in the CDU/SPD group. 2021 was also explored, the CDU initially had the impression that things had gone well for them. Until she was coldly dumped and the SPD preferred the Greens and the Left.
The start with the Greens was completely different. “Greetings!”, “Greetings!”, everyone is on first-name terms. Meaningful looks. The CDU is prepared down to the last detail and knows that the green co-negotiator Sebastian Walter has his 44th birthday. “Celebrating among friends,” says Wegner happily.
Bettina Jarasch (green scarf) came with Werner Graf, Susanne Mertens, Philmon Ghirmai, Silke Gebel, Sebastian Walter (from left) Photo: David’s
The sticking points? Between the CDU and the Greens, dealing with the question of expropriation (in the case of housing companies with 3000 apartments) and internal security, e.g. B. the topic of deportations. Rather less the traffic issues – the federal government anyway ultimately decides on the further construction of the A100.
And between the CDU and SPD? The remunicipalisation of Gasag and the district heating network. New debts yes/no? More free years in after-school care? Public-private partnership, i.e. investors e.g. B. have schools built and then rent them across the state of Berlin?
But something went terribly wrong in the first round: Chef Thomas Kammeier (56) had actually planned small glasses with falafel, hummus, pea guacamole and chia seed pudding for the Greens. And for the SPD Obatzter with pretzel crisps, veal meatballs, red fruit jelly – but the glasses were swapped.
Continuation with a new attempt, Monday, 10 a.m. (SPD) and on Wednesday with the Greens.