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reThe leader of the Greens party and the Christian Democratic Prime Minister of Saxony-Anhalt have a short and friendly line with each other. Reiner Haseloff’s private number is entered on Robert Habeck’s cell phone and vice versa. In recent years, the Doctor of Philosophy and the Doctor of Physics have been on the phone often and extensively. Mostly it was about problems in the Kenyan coalition of CDU, SPD and Greens, which Haseloff has led as head of government since spring 2016.
Therefore, it is not surprising that Habeck explained on Thursday morning in a digital conference in front of the press in the capital that the current escalation in Magdeburg “is not the first crisis I have to deal with in Saxony-Anhalt” . However, Habeck makes it very clear, it could soon be the last crisis to intervene there from Berlin. “I’ve never seen a party so incapable of acting!” Habeck complains. He sees a “glaring leadership weakness of the CDU at all levels.”
Even the minimal agreements would be canceled by the coalition partner after 45 minutes. The purpose and task of the Kenyan coalition in its formation was “to keep the CDU forces that do not want to cooperate with the AfD in the middle of society,” Habeck explains. But “obviously we can’t do that right now.”
In fact, the Kenyan coalition in Saxony-Anhalt is on the verge of breaking down. The dispute revolves around the approval of the state parliament to increase the transmission rate. On Wednesday, the actors arguing in Magdeburg were given seven more days to find a solution.
But the proposals on the table are not yet compatible with each other. The Kenyan coalition has been declared dead many times, this time it is deadly serious.
At first glance, it’s just 86 cents a month, payable as of January 1, 2021. But deep down it’s about so much more, and the Greens are now worried about the beginning. If the CDU parliamentary group voted against the state treaty along with the AfD in the state parliament, the union would leave the founding consensus of the coalition, so the main argument.
The Green Country Head Sebastian Striegel is a reliable and no-nonsense partner in the leadership of the Saxony-Anhalt CDU. He gratefully says that he does not pour gasoline on hot disputes, but instead calls the fire department. But Striegel was also very clear on Thursday morning and attacked Haseloff directly. The prime minister had “negligently provoked” the current crisis because he was unable to clarify the situation in his party and parliamentary group during the summer and autumn.
Now opponents are running out of time and their positions have hardened. Striegel calls the Union’s approach to Saxony-Anhalt “lying.” The Greens did not accept the coalition agreement in spring 2016 “so a proposal that was signed by 16 prime ministers, including ours, would be rejected,” he says flatly. A solution now could “only consist of Saxony-Anhalt backsliding in the concert of the other 16 federal states and the government’s proposal finds a majority in parliament.”
But that will hardly be possible with the CDU parliamentary group in Saxony-Anhalt. There it is repeatedly emphasized that the approval of the State Treaty is out of the question. The compromise could only consist of suspending a vote in parliament asking the commission to determine the financial needs of the broadcasters (KEF) to recalculate the contribution for Saxony-Anhalt. After all, the economic situation has fundamentally changed as a result of the economic crisis in the corona pandemic.
The man at the epicenter of the revolt
The CDU parliamentary group’s media policy spokesman Markus Kurz reacted outraged to the red line drawn by Striegel and Habeck on Thursday. “That is a bad accusation against the Greens,” he told WELT. “It is breaking a coalition agreement in the greatest post-war crisis. Apparently, you didn’t understand how democracy works. “
In the CDU of Saxony-Anhalt, Kurz is practically the epicenter of the revolt of contributions. He always emphasizes that the coalition agreed to “stable contributions” in 2016. His course finds great support, especially in the parliamentary group; His influence there appears to be greater than that of Prime Minister Haseloff, who obviously would have preferred a different stance from his party friends.
Does the Saxony-Anhalt coalition break up in the dispute over radio license fees?
Will the license fee be increased on January 1? This question is answered in Saxony-Anhalt, the unstable candidate among the federal states. In the Kenyan coalition there, there is a dispute over the increase, which could even lead to the end of the alliance.
However, there are also critical voices in the regional association. The influential CDU State Treasurer Karl Gerhold announced his resignation should the CDU and AfD vote together. In an email to friends of the party, he now warns of a “political disaster.” “We are cornered as filthy children and no longer as a guarantor of political stability,” he continues. He doesn’t want to be available for “kamikaze politics.”
Until now, the CDU headquarters in Berlin has been remarkably cautious. Habeck said Thursday that he expected to be at least “behind the scenes.” So far this has not been very successful. “My impression is that everyone at CDU is doing what they want.”
Not even the main politicians of the Union deny this observation. From party leader Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer there are no comments on the Saxony-Anhalt cause. Earlier in the year he had risked political intervention during the government crisis in Thuringia at the time. In trying to launch the CDU parliamentary group in Erfurt, they came across granite. Soon after, he announced that he did not want to run again as party leader.
Friedrich Merz, who wants to inherit Kramp-Karrenbauer, expressed his understanding for the CDU post in Saxony-Anhalt. In the days of Corona you could see a premium increase critically, he told the “Münchner Merkur.” Therefore, he supports Prime Minister Haseloff’s course of avoiding a vote. Merz is popular in the CDU in Saxony-Anhalt, but he too could not avoid a joint vote between the AfD and the CDU in parliament. The AfD opinion “is completely unimportant,” Merz said. But not only the SPD and the Magdeburg Greens see it very differently.
One of the few critical announcements of the CDU in the east came from Marco Wanderwitz. The eastern commissioner of the federal government of Saxony said on Twitter that he considered the expected increase in contribution moderate.
He believes that “today more than ever we need a strong public service station. Important for democracy. “
While Magdeburg actors persist in cramping, people in other state capitals shake their heads. The heads of government of Bavaria and Berlin, Markus Söder (CSU) and Michael Müller (SPD), were often spider enemies in the crown pandemic. They agree on the issue of premium increases and Saxony-Anhalt. You can’t negotiate forever, they say in unison. The crown crisis in particular has demonstrated the importance of the public media with its reporting.
Heads of country sign a contract for a higher transmission rate
Prime ministers have signed the State Treaty for an increase in the license fee. This means that the contribution could increase by € 0.86 from 2021.
Source: WELT / Nicole Fuchs-Wiecha
Lower Saxony Prime Minister Stephan Weil (SPD) also appears to be rubbing his eyes in Hannover over what is happening in the neighboring eastern country. If the CDU votes no in Magdeburg, the broadcasters would go to the Federal Constitutional Court and win there, he told the Germany publishing network. 15 out of 16 countries agree on this.
15 of 16? Not yet. In addition to Saxony-Anhalt, a vote from Thuringia is still pending. An exact date for a vote in the state parliament in December has not yet been set. On Wednesday, the CDU parliamentary group discussed the issue in Erfurt without a decision. Increasing the premium has long been controversial there as well.
He had “a great understanding of the criticism that is being made,” CDU parliamentary group leader Mario Voigt told the “Thuringian General.” Structural disadvantage in the East in particular remains a major problem.
In the Erfurt state parliament, the left, the Greens and the SPD want to approve the increase in the contribution. But that is not enough. After the AfD and FDP announced a no, it is now up to the Union.
According to WELT information, opponents and supporters of the State Treaty are roughly balanced in the CDU parliamentary group. The group’s leader, Voigt, indicated that the parliamentary group could stand up when voting, each member of the CDU would then vote as they see fit. Approval of the premium increase would be relatively safe this way.
The CDU in Saxony-Anhalt rules out such a division process. At least until now. You don’t want to be divided, he told himself to justify. Would the publication of the vote be a way out of the crisis? Also in Magdeburg there are Christian Democrats in the state parliament who consider it dangerous to vote with the AfD. They are very, very quiet right now.
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