Keep Us Strong WikiLeaks logo

Currently released so far... 51122 / 251,287

Articles

Browse latest releases

Browse by creation date

Browse by origin

A B C D F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z

Browse by tag

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Browse by classification

Community resources

courage is contagious

Viewing cable 07HAMBURG38, BREMEN'S SPD OPTS FOR A RED-GREEN COALITION

If you are new to these pages, please read an introduction on the structure of a cable as well as how to discuss them with others. See also the FAQs

Understanding cables
Every cable message consists of three parts:
  • The top box shows each cables unique reference number, when and by whom it originally was sent, and what its initial classification was.
  • The middle box contains the header information that is associated with the cable. It includes information about the receiver(s) as well as a general subject.
  • The bottom box presents the body of the cable. The opening can contain a more specific subject, references to other cables (browse by origin to find them) or additional comment. This is followed by the main contents of the cable: a summary, a collection of specific topics and a comment section.
To understand the justification used for the classification of each cable, please use this WikiSource article as reference.

Discussing cables
If you find meaningful or important information in a cable, please link directly to its unique reference number. Linking to a specific paragraph in the body of a cable is also possible by copying the appropriate link (to be found at theparagraph symbol). Please mark messages for social networking services like Twitter with the hash tags #cablegate and a hash containing the reference ID e.g. #07HAMBURG38.
Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
07HAMBURG38 2007-05-22 09:57 2011-08-24 01:00 UNCLASSIFIED Consulate Hamburg
VZCZCXRO2530
RR RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHAG #0038 1420957
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 220957Z MAY 07
FM AMCONSUL HAMBURG
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0149
INFO RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN 0138
RUCNFRG/FRG COLLECTIVE
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHAG/AMCONSUL HAMBURG 0168
UNCLAS HAMBURG 000038 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR/AGS 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL GM
SUBJECT: BREMEN'S SPD OPTS FOR A RED-GREEN COALITION 
 
REF: A. A) HAMBURG 035 
     B. B) HAMBURG 031 
 
1. (U) Just a week after the state parliamentary elections, 
Bremen's Social Democratic Party (SPD) leadership announced on 
May 20 that it will seek to form a governing coalition with the 
Greens, bringing an end to twelve years of a Social 
Democratic-Christian Democratic (SPD-CDU) Grand Coalition.  Jens 
Boehrnsen (SPD) will continue as Mayor and President of the 
Bremen Senate (Minister President).  Bremen's new governing 
coalition will be the first SPD-Greens coalition at the state 
level since the end of the Red-Green Coalition in the North 
Rhine-Westphalia 2005 state elections.  Greens Party leadership 
met on May 21 and decided to enter into coalition negotiations, 
however Greens Deputy Caucus Leader Matthias Gueldner stated 
that formal negotiations will begin after the Whit Monday 
holiday (May 28) and should be concluded by the end of June. 
Both the SPD and Greens will hold party conventions on May 24 to 
formalize the decision. 
 
2. (U) Prior to the SPD's announcement, CDU State Chairperson 
Bernd Neumann announced that his party was planning to go into 
the opposition.  Bremen CDU leadership will hold a specialQeting on May 22 to "set the course for a powerful role as the 
opposition" and redefine the party's profile in the city-state. 
The new Red-Green Coalition is expected to focus more on social 
issues, an area that plagued the Grand Coalition with several 
scandals over the past year. 
 
3. (SBU) The SPD's decision will affect the federal Grand 
Coalition's two-thirds majority in the Bundesrat.  While Bremen 
only holds three seats in the Bundesrat, the federal SPD-CDU 
coalition requires two of them to maintain the two-thirds 
majority necessary for constitutional amendments.  Such 
decisions will now require that the SPD and CDU convince one of 
the "neutral bloc" states in which a federal opposition party is 
a coalition partner to support the legislation (Ref A). 
Further, the May 20 announcement of the Red-Green Coalition is 
yet another signal that the SPD may start turning to its left 
flank in order to maintain its traditional voter base and appeal 
to new voters in future elections. 
 
4. (U) This message has been coordinated with Embassy Berlin. 
 
BUTCHER