SPD, Left and Greens finish coalition talks in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

Negotiations concluded

The SPD, the Left and the Greens have concluded negotiations on a future state government in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the northeastern German state. Minister-President Manuela Schwesig announced the end of the talks in Schwerin on Tuesday, 10 November, when the coalition programme was presented. The 133-page document is titled "Zusammenhalt, Zuversicht, Zukunft". The four-week round of talks ran quickly and quietly, and its main points had already become public before the final round. Schwesig described the process in a single sentence:

“These were intensive negotiations, mostly until late into the night.”

Policy priorities

The programme keeps the budget socially oriented and places the expansion of renewable energy at its centre. The state government expects this focus to attract new industrial sectors to the region. A planned state development bank, the Landesförderbank, is meant to carry further measures. During the talks, Schwesig and the parliamentary group leaders of the Left, Hennis Herbst, and the Greens, Claudia Müller, regularly briefed the press on individual topics. The negotiators have not yet said which posts the parties will receive in the new cabinet.

Approval and parliamentary vote

Before the coalition agreement can take effect, the membership of each of the three parties must endorse it. The parties hold their conferences on Friday and Saturday, 13 and 14 November, and approval is widely expected to be a formality. The future coalition groups have asked for the state parliament, the Landtag, to convene on Monday, 16 November, to elect Schwesig as minister-president, a spokesperson for the parliament administration confirmed. The council of elders is due to consider the request on Wednesday, 11 November. Under the state constitution, the last possible date for the election is 17 November.

Election background

The state election on 20 September made the AfD the strongest party with 38.2%, but it found no coalition partner. The SPD (35.5%) and the Left (6.5%) lost their previous majority in the state parliament. Together with the Greens (5.7%), they could form the first red-red-green state government in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The CDU failed the 5% threshold for the first time in its history. Saxony-Anhalt and Berlin also voted in September, and neither has a new government yet.

AfD38.2%

SPD35.5%

Left (Linke)6.5%

Greens (Grüne)5.7%

AfD

38.2 %

SPD

35.5 %

Left (Linke)

6.5 %

Greens (Grüne)

5.7 %

Data from the article text

Wider context and open points

Schwesig is using her new position to set herself up as a counterweight to Friedrich Merz. According to the announcement, a three-party alliance under SPD leadership is taking shape for the coming legislative term. The announcement did not include details on the distribution of ministries or the timetable for forming the government. The parliamentary vote on 16 November is the next formal step once the party conferences have approved the text.