Red-red coalition

A red-red coalition is generally a coalition of social democratic / socialist and democratic-socialist / communist parties .

Germany

Under a red-red coalition is understood in Germany , a coalition of SPD and the party The Left (or formerly the PDS ). So far, the SPD has always provided the head of government. In several East German federal states, Die Linke has performed better than the SPD in state elections in the past. However, in these cases there has never been a red-red coalition , but instead a grand coalition led by the CDU or, in Thuringia, 2014-2019 and again since 2020 a red-red-green coalition ( Cabinet Ramelow I and Cabinet Ramelow II ).

The first cooperation between the SPD and PDS began in Saxony-Anhalt in 1994 . Prime Minister Reinhard Höppner had his red-green minority government tolerated by the PDS. From 1998 to 2002 the SPD ruled without Alliance 90 / The Greens , which had failed to make it into the state parliament. But Höppner still needed the votes of the PDS. Based on this cooperation between the SPD and PDS, one speaks of the Magdeburg model when the PDS tolerates an SPD minority government .

The first red-red coalition was established in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in 1998 and ruled under Prime Minister Harald Ringstorff until 2006. In the state elections in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in 2006 , the government alliance only received a slim majority, Ringstorff and, since 2008, his successor Erwin Sellering have co-formed since then the CDU.

Even Berlin was governed from 2002 to 2011 from a red-red coalition.

After the end of the grand coalition in 2001, the SPD initially ruled in a red-green minority government, tolerating the PDS (Magdeburg model). After the election of the Berlin House of Representatives in September 2001 and the subsequent failure of the talks to form a traffic light coalition , a red-red coalition ( Senate Wowereit II ) was formed in January 2002 . In the Berlin election in September 2006 , the Left Party.PDS and Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen received an equal number of seats in the House of Representatives. Despite a possible parliamentary majority in favor of cooperation with the Greens, the SPD decided to continue the red-red coalition ( Senate Wowereit III ). In the election for the Berlin House of Representatives in 2011 , the ruling coalition lost its parliamentary majority. After negotiations with both the Greens and the CDU, a grand coalition was formed under the leadership of the SPD.

At the beginning of 2008, the SPD in Thuringia was considering whether a coalition would also be formed with the left, if the SPD were the smaller partner and the left provided the prime minister. Richard Dewes advocated acting as a junior partner of the left. Ultimately, however, he was defeated in a primary election against Christoph Matschie , who ran as the top candidate in the state elections in Thuringia in 2009 . Matschie only wanted to work with the left if they elected him prime minister. In October 2009, the Thuringian SPD decided against a red-red coalition and in favor of the formation of a black-red coalition under the leadership of CDU Prime Minister Christine Lieberknecht .

After the state elections in Brandenburg in 2009 , the SPD, as the strongest force, had the options of continuing the coalition with the CDU, which had been in office since 1999, or of forming the first red-red coalition in Brandenburg . SPD Prime Minister Matthias Platzeck proposed on October 12, 2009 to the state executive of his party to conduct coalition negotiations with the left. On November 6, 2009, the red-red coalition was sworn in in the state parliament.

In February 2014, the SPD announced its readiness to form coalitions at state level under a prime minister of the Die Linke party.

After the state elections in Brandenburg and Thuringia in September 2014, a government was formed in both cases consisting of at least the SPD and the Left Party . In Brandenburg , the previous government work with the Woidke II cabinet was continued despite percentage losses, especially among the left. With Bodo Ramelow as Prime Minister, the SPD and Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen were also able to agree on cooperation under the leadership of the Left Party in the Ramelow cabinet. Due to the participation of the Greens, such a constellation is not considered a red-red government, but a red-red-green government. However, during the election campaign there was speculation as to whether a red-red coalition might not be possible. However, the heavy losses at the SPD prevented a corresponding absolute majority in the state parliament.

Austria

In Austria , a red-red coalition means the cooperation between social democrats (SPÖ) and communists (KPÖ). Due to the low share of the vote for the KPÖ and historical reservations at the SPÖ (in the so-called Eisenstadt Declaration , the SPÖ condemned communism and rejected any support from the KPÖ), no coalition has yet come about between these parties.

After the state elections in Styria in 2005 , in which the KPÖ achieved third place with 6.3%, no actual government coalition was considered (the state government was then occupied according to the proportional representation system , which meant that the communists had no right to participate in the government). However, the SPÖ supported the proposal to elect the SPÖ state party leader Franz Voves as governor with the help of the KPÖ if the ÖVP should refuse to give its consent. In the end, Voves was elected with the votes of the SPÖ, ÖVP and KPÖ, only the Greens refused to support.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ MDR: Match vs. Dewes - The day of the decision  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
2. ↑ MDR: Matschie makes the running ( Memento from February 26, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
3. ^ Spiegel Online: Platzeck re-elected as head of government
4. ↑ zeit.de: SPD opens for Prime Ministers of the Left Party , from February 9, 2014
5. ^ Blecha: SPÖ-KPÖ coalition possible. In: orf.at. September 9, 2005, accessed August 10, 2016 . 
6. ↑ Gusenbauer sees no problem in the Voves election by the KPÖ. In: derstandard.at. September 14, 2005, accessed August 10, 2016 . 
7. ↑ Stenographic report: 1st session of the Styrian Landtag (15th legislative period - October 25, 2005). (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on August 10, 2016 ; accessed on August 10, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.