Strong police, compulsory pre-school, queer officer - what Black-Red is planning in Berlin

It was once again the big performance for Berlin's Governing Mayor Franziska Giffey (SPD). First the state banquet for the British King Charles III. in Bellevue Palace. Then, on Thursday morning, the royal couple was welcomed in the posh Hotel Adlon, a walk through a weekly market and finally, together with Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, also to the arrival center for Ukrainian war refugees at Tegel Airport. Appointments according to the taste of those still in power. Giffey has never made a secret of how much she enjoys representing her city.

But that will soon be over. As is well known, the CDU had the edge in the repeat election on February 12th. CDU and SPD are negotiating a grand coalition, Giffey is resigning to the second rank, under the probable new governing mayor Kai Wegner. The coalition agreement is to be presented to the public on Monday.

And that's why, after the king's departure, it was straight back to the negotiating table, where the topics of transport, construction and urban development were discussed. The coalition talks will enter the final round on Friday, after which budget and finances, the "principles of cooperation" and the allocation of departments will be negotiated. The thickest boards are usually drilled at the end, which is why the final meeting is also scheduled with an open end.

But CDU country chief Kai Wegner does not necessarily expect a long night. "I really enjoy the coalition negotiations," he said in a good mood during a break in the negotiations. "To achieve the best for Berlin" is the common motto for the next three and a half years of the current legislative period, according to Wegner - a sentence that made Giffey smile warmly.

The message was clear: here are two who understand each other. Black and red, that can work, even if the party base still has to vote and party left and Jusos are eagerly beating the "NoGroko" drum.

In fact, the negotiation results communicated so far suggest that the Social Democrats will not fare badly in this alliance - although with their 18.4 percent in the election they were almost ten percentage points behind the CDU. There should be five senator posts for everyone, and the CDU also provides Wegner as the governing mayor. The negotiations were "very constructive," says Giffey. "Some will be surprised that there is more in this coalition agreement than in the previous one."

The negotiators were able to clear one of the thickest chunks this week: There should be an administrative reform that should ensure that the inefficient official ping-pong between the Senate and the districts will come to an end in the future. "We came here with the very clear goal that Berlin has to function in all areas," said Wegner. Berlin needs an administrative modernization, authorities have to work more reliably and faster as service providers for the citizens. Specifically, a law should be drawn up to regulate the responsibilities between the state and district levels more clearly, said Giffey.

The basis for this should be the cornerstones for an administrative reform that have been developed by the previous red-green-red Senate. It also provides for technical supervision of the respective Senate departments over the district offices. And the SPD was also able to save another project from the project plan of the still incumbent left-wing coalition: lowering the voting age. "We want to look for majorities as quickly as possible in order to make the voting age 16 constitutional," announced SPD co-leader Raed Saleh.

Two weeks ago, the future coalition partners devoted themselves to the topic of climate protection - and decided to create a "climate protection special fund" worth up to ten billion euros. The money is to be used to finance expenditure in the areas of building renovation, mobility and energy generation. A decision that was clearly influenced by the climate referendum that ultimately failed – but which the activists can certainly claim as a success for their mobilization work.

But the classic CDU issues were not neglected in the negotiations either. The CDU and SPD want to anchor a clear commitment to support the police, fire brigade and rescue services in their coalition agreement. "We made a promise that we would keep the city safe," Wegner said. To this end, the police should be better and more modernly equipped, including with body cams and tasers. In addition, video surveillance is to be expanded in crime-prone locations.

And the first decisions have already been made in education policy. Berlin wants to continue the expired federal program "Language Daycare Centers" with state funds. And for children who need language support, there will in future be a mandatory pre-school year, known as the “Kita-Chancenjahr”. This is actually already mandatory in Berlin, but it is not yet binding enough.

Under Black and Red, Berlin should also get a queer officer for the first time - "a point that was very important to the CDU, but also to us," as Saleh emphasized. In addition, the House of Representatives will set up a commission of inquiry to deal with racism in society and administration.

Points with which the negotiators of the Social Democrats clearly also want to get internal party critics on board. The Jusos in particular are vehemently opposed to an alliance with the CDU, which they perceive as “racist”. The youth organization has therefore called for the "biggest internal party campaign that the SPD Berlin has ever seen".

The battle for the Red City Hall in Berlin has begun. The clear winner of the election, the CDU, insists on forging a two-party alliance with the Greens or the SPD. SPD General Secretary Kevin Kühnert is campaigning for the federal parties to stay out of the formation of a government.

Source: WORLD | Franca Lehfeldt and Carsten Haedler

"Our campaign is going according to plan," said Juso boss Sinem Tasan-Funke WELT. Three member-strong SPD district associations have already positioned themselves against black and red - and she is confident that more will follow. “This shows us that it is the party leadership that absolutely wants this coalition. The organized base of the party is largely on our side on this issue.”

The party executive of the Berlin SPD sees things differently. Much of the election program can be found in the resolutions, says assessor Kevin Hönicke. "Anyone who approaches the question in a content-oriented manner will clearly recognize the SPD in the draft that has been negotiated, so I look forward to the vote with good cheer."

While in the case of the CDU, a state party conference decides on entry into the coalition, in the case of the SPD, the members have the floor. The result is to be announced on April 23.

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