Coalition in NRW: Which alliance will govern North Rhine-Westphalia in the future?

Traffic light is possible

Created: 05/15/2022, 06:07

By: Patrick Mayer

Which coalition will govern North Rhine-Westphalia in the future?

And are the Greens or the FDP or even both allowed to join the NRW alliance?

© IMAGO / Christian Ohde

North Rhine-Westphalia will elect its parliament and thus a new government in the 2022 state elections.

CDU, SPD, Greens and FDP - who forms the coalition?

• NRW state election 2022: On Sunday (May 15) NRW will elect a new state parliament.

• A coalition of CDU and FDP currently governs the Düsseldorf state parliament.

• But the SPD and the Greens also want to be in government.

• This news ticker on the coalition issue after the NRW elections is constantly updated.

Munich/Düsseldorf – Before he clearly failed in the 2021 federal election, ex-chancellor candidate Armin Laschet (CDU) had given his party a victory in the 2017 state election in North Rhine-Westphalia.

With a plus of 6.7 percent of the votes, the Aachener replaced the red-green coalition of Hannelore Kraft in a black-yellow coalition with the FDP.

When Laschet ran in the federal elections in September, Hendrik Wüst (CDU) took his place as the new prime minister within the party.

The 46-year-old Munsterlander became head of state without having to face an election.

That changes this Sunday, May 15th.

The 2022 NRW state election is about whether Wüst can defend the government for his CDU.

And if so, in which coalition.

Shortly before the ballot, things looked good for the Christian Democratic Union of Germany.

Coalition in North Rhine-Westphalia: who will govern in Düsseldorf after the 2022 state elections in North Rhine-Westphalia?

Specifically: Four days before the 2022 state elections in North Rhine-Westphalia, the CDU had increased its lead over the SPD, according to an INSA survey.

In numbers: In a survey published on Thursday (May 12), the CDU came to 32 percent.

The SPD, with its top candidate Thomas Kutschaty, was 28 percent.

According to the INSA survey, the Greens were around 16 percent in the electoral favour, while the FDP was at risk of an election defeat with eight percent of the votes compared to 2017 (12.6 percent).

State election 2022 in NRW - These topics move the citizens

Both parties are potential coalition partners for the two "big" CDU and SPD.

NRW state election 2022: Jamaica, traffic lights, red-green - these coalitions are possible in North Rhine-Westphalia

• Grand coalition:

  CDU and SPD would have to work together, but one of the two parties would have to provide the small coalition partner - it would be a perceived political defeat.

  This is not the only reason why this alliance is rather unlikely.

  The offensive opposition policy of the CDU in the federal government also speaks for this.

• Jamaica coalition:

  With an alliance of CDU, FDP and Greens, the latter would probably have to be broadened.

  In recent years, the FDP has ruled quite loyally and quietly alongside the CDU in Düsseldorf.

  But: The Greens recently reaffirmed their interest in a two-party alliance.

  "We will do everything we can to be as strong as possible until May 15," said top candidate Mona Neubaur: "The stronger the Greens are, the higher the probability that it will be enough for a two-person constellation in North Rhine-Westphalia ."

• red-green coalition:

  The Greens would probably prefer to govern with the SPD.

  Many protagonists know each other from the joint coalition before the state elections in 2017. With the goal of a two-party alliance, the Greens probably want to avoid too big compromises with the FDP, for example in tax policy or environmental policy.

  The party had to get through this in the federal government, as several representatives later admitted.

  However, a red-green alliance is shaky, for which the SPD in particular would have to overtake the CDU in the final sprint.

• black-green coalition:

  From INSA to research group elections to Infratest dimap - in the latest NRW surveys by opinion research institutes, the CDU recently had an overall lead over the Social Democrats.

  CDU and Greens - that has never existed in North Rhine-Westphalia.

  Meanwhile, Wüst is eagerly campaigning for a possible coalition partner.

  In an interview with Die

  Zeit

  he praised: "The Greens, for example, have followed a more consistent line towards Putin's Russia and have always clearly expressed skepticism and criticism."

• Traffic light coalition:

  what if the SPD should overtake the CDU in the voters' favor in the last few meters?

  Then a traffic light alliance of SPD, FDP and Greens would be possible not only in Berlin but also in Düsseldorf.

  All three parties must work together in the complex situation of the Russia-Ukraine war.

  That creates experiences.

INSA survey on the 2022 NRW state elections (as of May 12): CDU left SPD behind

Which coalition will govern in North Rhine-Westphalia after the 2022 state elections?

In this news ticker we will keep you up to date.