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Viewing cable 08HAMBURG14, PILOT PROJECT HAMBURG: CDU AND GREENS FORM FIRST STATE

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
08HAMBURG14 2008-04-18 14:16 2011-08-24 01:00 UNCLASSIFIED Consulate Hamburg
VZCZCXRO1909
PP RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN RUEHLZ
RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHAG #0014/01 1091416
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 181416Z APR 08
FM AMCONSUL HAMBURG
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0230
INFO RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN PRIORITY 0209
RUCNFRG/FRG COLLECTIVE
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHAG/AMCONSUL HAMBURG 0251
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HAMBURG 000014 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/AGS 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL GM
SUBJECT: PILOT PROJECT HAMBURG: CDU AND GREENS FORM FIRST STATE 
COALITION 
 
REF: A. A) HAMBURG 007 
     B. B) HAMBURG 005 
     C. C) BERLIN 0137 
 
HAMBURG 00000014  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
1. (SBU) Summary: The signing of the first coalition agreement 
between the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Greens 
(GAL) on the state level in Hamburg April 17 bridged a wide 
political divide between these one-time enemy parties.  The 
65-page agreement displayed unity on several issues, but the 
main point of contention between the two parties - the 
construction of a coal power plant - remained open.  While both 
parties had national support for the coalition negotiations, 
national party leaders, including Chancellor Angela Merkel 
(CDU), remain convinced that a federal black-green (CDU-Greens) 
coalition is "rather unlikely" due to major differences between 
the two parties on defense, domestic security, and immigration 
issues among others.  Nevertheless, if the Hamburg black-green 
coalition is successful in implementing innovative solutions to 
current political and environmental challenges, it may open up 
coalition options at both the state and national level in this 
new five-party system.  The Greens and CDU state parties will 
submit the agreement for state party approval at their party 
conventions April 27 and April 28 respectively.  Both parties 
expect their membership to easily endorse the agreement. 
Current CDU Mayor/Minister President Ole von Beust is expected 
to be re-elected by the state parliament on May 7.  End Summary. 
 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
---------- 
PERSONALITIES KEY TO NEGOTIATION SUCCESS 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
---------- 
 
2. (SBU) Having lost its absolute majority in Hamburg's February 
24 state elections, the CDU was left with the task of building a 
coalition government (Ref A).  Following preliminary discussions 
with both the SPD and Greens, Mayor Ole von Beust (CDU) and CDU 
Party Chairman Michael Freytag decided to negotiate exclusively 
with the Greens.  (Note:  The CDU's traditional coalition 
partner, liberal Free Democratic Party [FDP], did not overcome 
the five percent hurdle to enter the state parliament in the 
elections.  End Note.)  Despite long hours of meetings over the 
last several weeks, both sides remarked that the negotiations 
were extremely open, collegial and matter-of-fact.  It appears 
that the success of the meetings can be attributed in great part 
to the personalities of von Beust and Green party State Caucus 
Leader Christa Goetsch and State Party Chair and Federal 
Parliament Member Anja Hajduk.  (Note: Von Beust has displayed a 
great deal of political flexibility in his career.  He became 
mayor of Hamburg through coalition agreements with the 
rightist-populist Schill Party in 2001.  End Note.)  This mutual 
respect and objective approach to reaching political goals will 
continue to be necessary for the city-state of Hamburg to handle 
upcoming challenges, such as ensuring energy supplies, keeping 
shipping-lanes open in its growing container port, and reforming 
a suffering school system. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --------------- 
ENERGY, EDUCATION AND ENVIRONMENT 
--------------------------------------------- ---------------- 
 
3. (SBU) In order to reach agreement both parties had to concede 
political goals.  The three main issues of contention were 
school reform, dredging of the Elbe River, and the construction 
of a brown coal power plant.  Despite calling for 
further-reaching reforms the Greens were able to implement a new 
system of six-years of combined primary school.  Goetsch, a 
former teacher, will be Hamburg's next minister of education. 
The CDU was successful in ensuring that the Elbe River could be 
further dredged in order to accommodate the next generation of 
container ships although CDU Lower Saxony MP Wulff has expressed 
opposition to this plan.  In return, the Greens were able to 
secure agreement that this would be the last deepening of the 
river and to create a government-funded endowment for ecological 
protection of the Elbe watershed.  Finally, the two parties 
agreed to defer the issue of the construction of the Moorburg 
coal power plant to the environment and city-planning ministry, 
under the new leadership of Greens State Party Chair Hajduk. 
Hajduk will decide whether to issue the remaining permits to 
Vattenfall, which has already begun construction on the plant 
and filed suit against Hamburg on April 14 for failing to issue 
the final water and emissions authorizations.  Parallel, the 
city will open up operation of its district long-distance 
heating system and the possible future construction of a gas 
power plant to European-wide competition. 
 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
------------------------------ 
NATIONAL BLACK-GREEN COALITION "HIGHLY UNREALISTIC" 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
 
HAMBURG 00000014  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
------------------------------- 
 
4. (SBU)  Experts are split on the viability of the new 
black-green state-level coalition, with some saying this 
historical agreement opens up new options for political parties 
and pulls them away from their ideological positions and others 
indicating that the agreement is unique to Hamburg. 
Representatives of both parties are quick to point out that 
Hamburg does not serve as a model for future CDU/Greens 
coalitions on the state, and, in particular, the federal level. 
They stress the major policy differences between the CDU and the 
Greens to underscore the incompatibility of positions.  In a 
discussion with Hamburg Pol/Econ officer prior to the elections, 
Hajduk stated that speculation about a CDU/Greens coalition was 
"highly unrealistic" and "difficult to conceive" due to 
important local policy differences between the two parties on 
environmental and education matters, and a Greens party base 
traditionally more left-leaning than average (Ref. B).  As 
realistic as some claims of policy divisions on national level 
continue to be (e.g. security policy), successful coalition 
negotiations in Hamburg clearly underscore the willingness of 
both parties to bridge fundamental divisions and find common 
ground.  On April 17, designated Greens front-runner for the 
2009 Bundestag elections J|rgen Trittin stated, "We are in a 
situation, in which red-green majorities are a distant prospect 
due to the blatant weakness of the SPD."  Trittin pointed out 
that content mattered most and added that he can imagine a 
"black-green" coalition with Angela Merkel as chancellor. 
 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
------- 
COMMENT: RISK OR ADVANTAGE; PROSPECTS 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
------- 
 
5. (SBU) Comment: The de-facto opening up of a new coalition 
option, as un-replicable as it might seem in other states and at 
the federal level, is advantageous for both parties: the CDU has 
a potential option beyond grand or CDU - FDP coalitions, and the 
Greens can liberate themselves from the strong hold of the SPD. 
Even if the Hamburg solution were to remain the only black-green 
coalition for the time being, both parties could pressure their 
traditional coalition partners by pointing to Hamburg as a 
potential alternative, particularly if the Hamburg coalition is 
successful in governing the city-state.  In negotiating with the 
opposition, both the CDU and Greens risked ostracizing 
traditional party membership.  They appear to have overcome this 
obstacle through transparency within their membership and a 
practical approach to political problems.  However, this 
equation might only hold true as long as the SPD refrains from 
forming "red-green-red" coalitions with the Left Party and the 
Greens.  End Comment. 
 
6. (U) This cable has been coordinated with Embassy Berlin. 
JOHNSON