In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania the Social Democratic Party of Germany and the Greens will vote at separate party conferences on 14 November on their coalition agreement with the Left Party. The Left Party has already approved the agreement. If the other two parties also approve it, Manuela Schwesig is due to be re-elected Minister-President in the state parliament on 16 November. state parliament is due to be re-elected Minister-President.
The Social Democrats are meeting in Güstrow, while the Greens are meeting in Stralsund. The agreement is due to be signed on Saturday evening, after the decisions. It would provide the basis for the first joint state government of the SPD, the Left Party and the Greens in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The previous government, formed by the SPD and the Left Party, lost its majority in the state election in September.
The Left Party approved the agreement at a conference in Güstrow on 13 November. According to Deutschlandfunk, delegates approved the document by a large majority. At the latest available news update, the Social Democrats and Greens had yet to hold their votes.
The three parties presented their agreement in Schwerin on 10 November. The coalition agreement sets out policy plans for the parliamentary term up to 2031. These include setting up a state development bank to improve economic support. Funding procedures are to be simplified and bureaucracy reduced.
In transport, the negotiating partners want to retain the Deutschlandticket . Together with local authorities, they plan to use it as the basis for a discounted youth ticket for pupils, trainees and people aged 14 and over undertaking voluntary service. This is a proposal by the parties, not a service that has been introduced.
The agreement provides for a reduction in posts in the state administration. According to a report by Norddeutscher Rundfunk, 1,000 posts are to be cut in the coming years; the police, judiciary and schools are to be exempt. The negotiating partners say digitalisation and artificial intelligence will offset the cuts.
The three potential coalition groups have a total of 39 seats in the state parliament. The Alternative for Germany, with 32 seats, is the only opposition group. Even if all party conferences approve the agreement, that does not replace the parliamentary election of the Minister-President. Further steps towards forming the state government can follow only after that election.
Editor: Phillipe Schmidt-Araguin (Article created with AI assistance).