Dietmar Woidke was re-elected as Minister-President of Brandenburg. The SPD politician received 50 of the 87 cast votes in the second ballot at the state parliament in Potsdam, with 45 votes needed for a successful election. There were 36 no-votes and one abstention.
In the first ballot, Woidke had failed, receiving only 43 votes. In the second ballot, he received support from the opposition ranks. The state parliament consists of 88 members, with the new coalition of SPD and BSW holding 46 seats. Due to the narrow majority, the election was eagerly anticipated. A BSW member had announced prior to the election that they would not vote for Woidke.
Woidke has been the Minister-President of Brandenburg since August 2013. At the state election on September 22, his party won 30.9% of the votes and became the strongest force, ahead of the AfD – the previous Kenya-coalition of SPD, CDU, and Greens lost its majority, with the Greens even failing to enter the state parliament.
For the Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht, founded as a party in January 2024, this is the first government participation in Germany. It was not initially Woidke’s desired partner, but other options reportedly did not exist. In the coalition negotiations, the SPD made concessions, for example, a so-called “peace formula” on the Ukraine war.