A GroKo would be the lesser evil for your SPD.
(Photo: dpa)
Franziska Giffey surprised everyone. Instead of again leading a red-green-red alliance in Berlin, she is satisfied with the role of junior partner in a grand coalition under the likely future CDU mayor Kai Wegner.
The decision shows that there is obviously still a bit of common sense in the Berlin SPD. With her decision, Giffey not only takes into account the will of the voters, who have made the CDU by far the strongest force. With her self-imposed demotion, she also saved her own party from going under.
Not everything that is democratically legal is politically legitimate. Deriving a government mandate for a left-wing alliance led by the SPD from an election defeat of 18 percent does not show political sensitivity. Of course, the SPD is allowed to do that. We live in a democracy, and the rule is: majority is majority. However, that would not be wise – out of pure self-interest.
The red-green-red alliance in Berlin was never progressive, but backward-looking. A prevention coalition that got bogged down in shop window politics such as the debate about a traffic-calmed Friedrichstrasse instead of providing for a better transport infrastructure.
Of course, a grand coalition is not without its dangers for the SPD. Should Wegner succeed, it will be difficult for the party to recapture the Red Town Hall. Nevertheless, a GroKo is the lesser evil for the SPD than a new edition of red-green-red or even black-green.
>> Read here: Official result of the Berlin elections – SPD remains just ahead of the Greens
If the SPD had continued to govern with its left-wing partners as if nothing had happened, it would have faced an even greater debacle in the elections in three years. A black-green alliance, on the other hand, would have merged the green ticking inner city core with the black-voting outskirts. Willy Brandt’s party would then have simmered on the opposition bench for a long time.
More: Berlin SPD sets the course in the direction of the CDU