Cooperation with the Greens at the federal level is a “no-no” for CSU leader Markus Söder, further narrowing the pool of coalition partners for the coalition’s nominee for chancellor, Friedrich Merz.
A day after withdrawing from the coalition’s search for a chancellor candidate, CSU leader Söder is categorically rejecting a coalition with the Greens. From the Bavarian premier’s perspective, the Greens in the current federal government are the main reason for Germany’s poor economic situation.
“When it comes to economic policy, we know that we have no capacity in Berlin. That is why I repeat again with deep and profound conviction that black-green is not an option for us under any circumstances,” Söder said at a closed-door meeting of the CSU state parliamentary group in Banz Monastery.
Söder has taken a very negative stance toward the Greens for months and has also urged the coalition to reject any possible alliance. “A black-green Germany is absolutely forbidden for us and the CSU will prevent that,” Söder said. The members reportedly responded with loud applause.
Merz does not fundamentally rule out a coalition
The position on the Greens has been one of the most controversial issues in the coalition in recent times. CDU leader Friedrich Merz has not ruled out a coalition with the Greens, but he is currently ruling it out. “From today’s perspective, it doesn’t work,” Merz said. ARD“We will see if things play out differently over the next 12 months,” Merz says. That is up to the Greens.
The question of a possible coalition is likely to continue to haunt the election campaign and could lead to conflict between the coalition parties. Söder and Merz announced yesterday jointly that Merz will be the candidate for Federal Chancellor in the federal election on September 28, 2025. Whether the Bavarian chancellor can ultimately maintain a firm rejection of the Greens will depend in particular on the distribution of seats after the elections, which are about a year away.
Determining incompatibility federation
According to the current survey, it is unclear how the coalition can form a majority in the Bundestag if the Greens are excluded. In the so-called incompatibility decision, the CDU and CSU have fundamentally ruled out cooperation with the AfD and the Left. There is discussion about extending the exclusion to the Alliance Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW).
For Söder, cooperation with the BSW in the federal government is not an option anyway. He said he was “sick to the stomach” about the possibility of a coalition at the national level after the elections in Thuringia and Saxony, and that an alliance was “unthinkable” for Germany.
Black-green color of the main dimension
Black-green governments have long been a reality in several federal states. The prime ministers of North Rhine-Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein, Hendrik Wüst and Daniel Günther, have called for unified support for Merz.
“We both support a successful black-green alliance and show that black-green can work well together. Unlike the traffic lights in Berlin, we work together on projects,” Günther said. It is also possible to take a common stance on issues such as internal security.
