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Manuela Schwesig (SPD)
Photo: Jens Büttner / dpa
In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania the way is free for the red-red state government under Manuela Schwesig (SPD).
Social Democrats and leftists approved the negotiated coalition agreement at special party conferences on Saturday.
With one abstention and 79 votes in favor, the left-wing delegates in Güstrow voted for acceptance.
In the SPD, 122 of the 123 eligible voters voted in favor.
"The left is capable of governing, and the left is also willing to govern," said the parliamentary leader of the Left in the Bundestag, Dietmar Bartsch, in Güstrow before the vote.
"It is an opportunity for us." Above all, it is an opportunity for the country.
Schwesig is to be re-elected in the state parliament on Monday
The parliamentary group leader of the Left in the state parliament, Simone Oldenburg, had negotiated the coalition agreement as the left’s leader.
In a red-red government, she is to become education minister and deputy prime minister.
The signing of the contract in the state capital Schwerin was planned for the afternoon.
The re-election of Schwesig as Prime Minister and the appointment of her cabinet are planned in the state parliament on Monday.
The SPD had clearly won the state election on September 26th with 39.6 percent.
The left came up with 9.9 percent.
The red-red alliance has 43 out of 79 seats in the state parliament.
The SPD has 34 MPs, the Left 9.
The voting age will decrease
Schwesig had campaigned for approval for the 77-page contract in a 45-minute speech.
In it she emphasized the triad of a strong economy with good wages, social justice and ecological responsibility, which will be the focus of the new five-year legislative period.
Schwesig said she was aware of her great responsibility and accepted the election result with humility.
No other party has such future competence as the SPD, she stressed.
One of the priorities in the coming years should be the participation of young people.
The voting age will be lowered to 16 years.
slü / dpa
