Greens leave big mark on coalition treaty with CDU in Hesse

The new coalition treaty for the incoming government between the conservative CDU and the Green Party in the German state Hesse bears the hallmark of the smaller coalition partner, the Greens, Julian Staib writes for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. The Greens gained a substantially larger share of the vote than they did before joining the same coalition five years ago. The new balance of power vis-à-vis a reduced CDU is evident especially in energy and environmental policy, Staib writes. Hesse’s Green Party leader Tarek al-Wazir must now get his party to pass the coalition treaty. It helps that the Greens now will hold two more ministries and that many energy and transport transition measures are part of the treaty. However, Staib says in a separate commentary, the coalition partners’ oft-praised smooth style of government of their last term may now take more confrontational tone, as the conservatives might feel the need to push back against their aspiring Green partner.