Formation of a government in Berlin: The Senate of new faces

She is unlikely to return to the government bench. Bettina Jarasch, the Green Party's top candidate in the 2021 House of Representatives election and subsequently Senator for Transport and the Environment, was quietly eliminated at the small party conference last Saturday.

Because a four-person commission is supposed to discuss which of the Greens should sit in the possible red-green-red Senate, the usual automatism that secures the top candidates a place at the Senate table is probably off the table for the Greens.

It's not just Bettina Jarasch who won't become a senator. Her co-leading candidate Werner Graf, the Green Party's candidate for the office of governing mayor, could also come away empty-handed if a red-green-red coalition were to emerge.

A possible coalition agreement should be in place by the end of the year. Left-wing election winner Elif Eralp issued this ambitious schedule. The prerequisite for this is that your party gives the green light for coalition negotiations at the party conference on October 31st.

It is of course still unclear who will take over which position in the Senate consisting of the Left Party, the Greens and the SPD, which could then stand in January. But it is already clear that there will be many new faces. Not just with the Greens.

However, some in the SPD still don't want to fully accept this. “Yes, but of course,” said Interior Senator Iris Spranger before the start of the explorations when asked whether she could imagine remaining in office.

On Monday, Spranger also opposed a decision by the Junge Union. At its Germany Day, it called for the state government to be excluded from information from the Office for the Protection of the Constitution and the Federal Criminal Police Office in the event of a red-green-red government being formed.

“Anyone who seriously demands that security-relevant information be withheld from our capital is endangering the work of our security authorities for the people of Berlin and the protection of state and federal properties,” the SPD politician then explained. Another application speech to remain in office.

With Spranger, it could well be that the SPD is relying on continuity in order to offer the federal government as little friction as possible. In addition, Spranger's appointment would be a signal to the Left Party that internal security is non-negotiable for the SPD. The prerequisite for this, however, is that the SPD successfully fights for the interior ministry.

A possible competitor for Spranger would then be the former SPD parliamentary group leader Raed Saleh. Ten years ago he refused to take over the interior department because he didn't want his children to go to school under police protection. Ten years have now passed - and a Senate position would be the ideal comeback for someone who still likes to see himself in the front row.

Things are probably less promising for Franziska Giffey. The Senator for Economic Affairs can also imagine remaining in office. However, this is contradicted by their repeated opposition to red-green-red.

Giffey recently spoke out against the socialization of private housing companies, although the explorations found a compromise. She also continues to support the continued construction of Autobahn 100. However, the Berlin SPD spoke out against this at a state party conference in 2022. That's what it says in the exploratory paper. With that, Giffey is probably out.

It is interesting to see who is now involved behind the scenes in the SPD. Rona Tietje, elected to the House of Representatives on September 20th, was a politician experienced in leadership and administrative issues in the exploratory team who could represent the pragmatic wing of the SPD in the future Senate. She became a city councilor in the Pankow district ten years ago, where she will remain in office until the district office is filled.

The exploratory team also has interesting personnel in the Left Party. In addition to Elif Eralp, her co-party leader Tobias Schulze and the two state chairmen Kerstin Wolter and Maximilian Schirmer, Wenke Christoph is also negotiating for the Left Party.

In 2020, Christoph became State Secretary of the Senate Department for Urban Development, which was then led by Sebastian Scheel, and in 2021 - also as State Secretary - he moved to the social administration under Katja Kipping. Should the Left choose experience for the urban development department that it will most likely claim, Christoph would be the right candidate. In this case, the still young housing policy spokesman Niklas Schenker could become State Secretary.

It will be interesting to see whether the Left will reach for the justice department in addition to urban development. This would have the advantage for the party that the socialization law could then be written in-house. According to reports, the Left is also supposed to claim finances for itself. The outgoing financial politician Steffen Zillich would be a candidate.

According to information from the taz, it is still unclear whether the Greens and the SPD will get the same number of senatorial positions or whether the Greens will have one more than the Social Democrats. With 4 positions for the Left, 4 for the Greens and 2 for the SPD, culture could go to the Greens. For the Council for the Arts, spokeswoman Sabine Kroner says they want a competent and assertive person.

The current cultural policy spokesman and former finance senator Daniel Wesener would be someone like that. However, Wesener no longer ran for the House of Representatives. “After two electoral terms in the House of Representatives, it is time for something new,” was his reasoning.

But perhaps the new position is also the position of Senator for Culture. In addition, the Greens are said to want to take over the economics department. The former district mayor of Mitte, Stefanie Remlinger, who belongs to the Realo faction, would be an option.

But the search committee has the final say. The four members, including the former top candidate Renate Künast, are not to be envied for their task. Because it is best to have someone in the new Senate who will be on the posters for the Greens in the next election. Such a Berlin Habeck – as quite a few in the party would like.