CDU and Greens in NRW: coalition agreement as a good foundation

Created: 2022-06-23Updated: 2022-06-23 2:03 PM

North Rhine-Westphalia's Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (l) the Green Party leader Mona Neubaur.

© Roberto Pfeil/dpa/archive image

The first black-green coalition agreement for North Rhine-Westphalia emphasizes climate protection, education and sustainability.

Prime Minister Wüst and Green leader Neubaur see a clear common compass.

Düsseldorf - With their coalition agreement, North Rhine-Westphalia's Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU) and Green Party leader Mona Neubaur see a good foundation laid for five years of government work.

"This work contributes in terms of content, but above all personally," said Wüst at the presentation of the contract on Thursday in Düsseldorf.

In the coalition negotiations, it was possible to “reconcile supposed opposites in order to create something good”.

The two parties share a common compass - more climate protection, a sustainable economy, future-proof infrastructure, investments in education and solid finances.

Green party leader Mona Neubaur emphasized five and a half weeks after the state elections that the coalition agreement laid the substantive foundation "that can carry us for five years".

Both partners wanted to make NRW the first climate-neutral industrial region in Europe.

During this time, the most populous federal state should become more socially just, ecological, digital and economically stronger.

Renewable energies would be significantly expanded.

After just over three weeks of negotiations, the CDU and the Greens had agreed on the first black-green coalition agreement.

It comprises 146 pages and is entitled "Future Contract for North Rhine-Westphalia".

Wüst called climate protection and the preservation of creation "the greatest tasks of our time".

Public transport should be massively expanded.

Another key point is: “We want to keep our country together in times of social polarization.” Wüst announced that peace should return to the schools.

"We don't have system debates, we invest in improving our schools." 10,000 new teachers should be hired.

On internal security, he underlined that the planned government alliance wanted to hire 3,000 new police officers every year.

The CDU is to occupy seven ministries in a black-green government in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the Greens four.

Neubaur said the Greens should have a department for energy and business, a ministry for transport, the environment and nature conservation, and responsibility for families and refugees, as well as the justice department.

The coalition agreement available to the German Press Agency shows that the interior ministry, the finance ministry and the school ministry will go to the CDU.

Party congresses of the CDU and the Greens in Bonn and Bielefeld still have to vote on the contract on Saturday.

The base of both parties is expected to agree.

The contract could then be signed by the heads of the delegation at the beginning of next week.

The re-election of Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst, who led a black-yellow coalition for eight months as the successor to Armin Laschet (CDU), is planned for next Tuesday in the state parliament.

Since the CDU and Greens have a comfortable majority of 115 of the 195 mandates, no surprises are to be expected in the five-party parliament.

Since May 31, 13 specialist working groups with a good 150 participants have been negotiating the coalition agreement.

On May 15, the CDU emerged as the clear winner from the state elections with 35.7 percent.

The Greens were able to almost triple their share of the vote compared to 2017 to 18.2 percent and ended up in third place behind the SPD (26.7).

So far, NRW has been governed by the CDU and FDP.

The Free Democrats had halved their election result to 5.9 percent.

dpa