Koalition: Regierungsfraktionen beschwören Zusammenhalt im Reformherbst
Vor der Koalition liegen heikle Abstimmungen im Bundestag. Bei einer Klausur in Münster wollen die Fraktionsspitzen eine Vertrauensbasis schaffen. Zuvor gab es ein überraschendes Treffen.
Münster - Matthias Miersch, the Social Democratic Party (SPD) faction leader, strolls along the Münsterer Aasee, stopping to speak to a group of colleagues. "We just keep going and mow them over," he says. With him are Thorsten Frei, the new Union faction chair from the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), and Alexander Hoffmann, the CSU Landesgruppen chief.
The three coalition politicians aim to create symbolic images of themselves walking side by side with determination. On Thursday and Friday, Frei, Hoffmann, and Miersch will join other members of their faction boards in Münster for a final briefing. They want to gather in a "protected space," as Hoffmann describes, to prepare for the challenges ahead.
The coalition will face a series of contentious issues when the black-red coalition faces a stress test in the autumn. This includes pension and care reforms, tax relief, and a budget exceeding 200 billion euros in new debt. Union and SPD will have to pass a number of controversial proposals in the Bundestag. "It will be highly demanding," Frei said before the briefing began. They would face "a path that contains indignities" for the Union, the SPD, and the voters.
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