Following the first 100 days in office, key coordinators from Germany’s governing coalition – the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Social Democratic Party (SPD) – have expressed consistent satisfaction with the stability demonstrated by the “grand coalition” despite recent challenges, notably the unsuccessful attempt to elect a Federal Constitutional Court judge.
Thorsten Frei, Minister for the Federal Chancellery, stated a shared commitment to the success of the governing arrangement. “We are both driven by the will to ensure this coalition is successful for our country” he commented. “The fact that we have already progressed 118 projects – including 57 legislative initiatives – through the cabinet in the first 100 days speaks to the effectiveness of the federal government and our collaboration”. Frei highlighted the development of a “good and reliable working relationship” with SPD State Secretary Björn Böhning, who coordinates government affairs for the Social Democrats.
Böhning confirmed the positive dynamic, noting the reliability of pre-agreements. “All our preliminary agreements are very reliable and hold true” he said. “We always try to anticipate potential problems as accurately as possible in our discussions. If they never come to light publicly, we have done our job well, which has been the case almost always so far”. This suggests a proactive and collaborative approach to managing potential conflicts within the coalition.