Mecklenburg-Vorpommern’s Minister-President, Manuela Schwesig, has appealed to the responsibility of SPD, CDU and CSU for the state and democracy at the start of the exploratory talks.
In a grand coalition, one must work better and more trustworthily together than was the case in the traffic light coalition, Schwesig told the news agency “Welt”. If not, it would only strengthen the AfD, she said.
Citizens expect the democrats to speak with each other. The 2025 federal election is a clear signal to CDU, CSU and also SPD that no one can continue as before, Schwesig emphasized. People expect that the parties will work together and solve the problems.
Schwesig referred to the strong AfD results, particularly in the East. “If the democrats do not solve the problems and do better than the traffic light government, then the extreme AfD results from the East will also arrive in the West. That’s why I think it’s very important that the exploratory talks also involve state premiers from Eastern Germany, Mr. Kretschmer and I. Because we cannot afford to lose the East. On the contrary, we must learn from our mistakes and do better.”
Schwesig also warns of the need for a better relationship of trust among the coalition partners, saying that the parties must learn from the failed traffic light government. “Before the brackets, the trust and reliability must be drawn: trust and reliability. One must learn from this failed government. Endless bickering not only harms the actors but also the democracy. And it needs a stable basis for trust and reliability. That one really wants to work well together, that it’s not about individual territorial gains for the parties, but about solving the big problems. And that is, to bring the state economically forward, to give the people social and economic security and of course, inner security.