Second Kretschmer cabinet

Second Cabinet of Michael Kretschmer Kretschmer II
10th Cabinet of Saxony
20 December 2019 –
Michael Kretschmer in March 2022
Date formed	20 December 2019
People and organisations
Minister-President	Michael Kretschmer
Deputy Minister-President	Wolfram Günther Martin Dulig
No. of ministers	12
Member parties	Christian Democratic Union Alliance 90/The Greens Social Democratic Party
Status in legislature	Coalition government 67 / 119
Opposition parties	Alternative for Germany The Left
History
Election(s)	2019 Saxony state election
Legislature term(s)	7th Landtag of Saxony
Predecessor	First Kretschmer cabinet

The Second Kretschmer cabinet is the current state government of Saxony, sworn in on 20 December 2019 after Michael Kretschmer was elected as Minister-President of Saxony by the members of the Landtag of Saxony. It is the 10th Cabinet of Saxony.

It was formed after the 2019 Saxony state election by the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Alliance 90/The Greens (GRÜNE), and Social Democratic Party (SPD). Excluding the Minister-President, the cabinet comprises twelve ministers. Seven are members of the CDU, two are members of the Greens, two are members of the SPD, and one is an independent politician.

Formation

See also: 2019 Saxony state election

The previous cabinet was a coalition government of the CDU and SPD led by Minister-President Michael Kretschmer.

The election took place on 1 September 2019, and resulted in significant losses for both governing parties. The opposition AfD achieved a major swing and became the second-largest party behind the CDU. The Left also suffered losses, while the Greens recorded a modest improvement and moved into fourth place ahead of the SPD.

Overall, the incumbent coalition lost its majority. The CDU ruled out cooperation with the AfD or The Left, leaving a Kenya coalition of the CDU, Greens, and SPD as the only practical option. The latter two parties stated they were open to discussions. ^[1] Minister-President Krestchmer said he expected an unusually long period of negotiations due to the differences between the parties; the Saxony CDU is considered one of the most conservative party associations in Germany and particularly opposed to the Greens. ^[2] The SPD called for exploratory talks the day after the election; on 7 September, the CDU and Greens also voted to open discussions. ^[3] Meetings began a week later. ^[4]

On 3 October, the three parties announced that exploratory talks had concluded successfully. ^[5] The CDU and SPD voted on 11 October to begin coalition negotiations, followed by the Greens the next day. ^[6] Discussions and meetings between working groups began during the week of 21 October. ^[7] Negotiations continued to five weeks before an agreement was reached. The parties intended to unveil their draft agreement on 22 November, but were delayed by conflicts over the distribution of cabinet departments. ^[8]

The coalition contract was presented on 1 December. ^[9] It was approved by the CDU congress on 11 December, receiving the support of around 80% of delegates. ^[10] The SPD and Greens both held membership ballots to approve the coalition. The results of the SPD vote were released on 16 December, with 74% voting in favour on 64% turnout. ^[11] The Greens followed on 19 December, with 93% voting to approve the agreement. ^[12]

Kretschmer was elected as Minister-President by the Landtag on 20 December 2019, winning 61 votes out of 118 cast. ^[13] The coalition agreement was formally signed the same day, and the new cabinet sworn in. ^[14]

Composition

Portfolio	Minister		Party		Took office	Left office	State secretaries
Minister-President		Michael Kretschmer born (1975-05-07) 7 May 1975 (age 47)		CDU	20 December 2019	Incumbent
First Deputy Minister-President Minister for Energy, Climate Protection, Environment and Agriculture		Wolfram Günther born (1973-06-27) 27 June 1973 (age 49)		GREENS	20 December 2019	Incumbent	Gerd Lippold Gisela Reetz
Second Deputy Minister-President Minister for Economics, Labour and Transport		Martin Dulig born (1974-02-26) 26 February 1974 (age 48)		SPD	20 December 2019	Incumbent	Thomas Kralinski Ines Fröhlich
Minister for Interior		Roland Wöller born (1970-07-19) 19 July 1970 (age 51)		CDU	20 December 2019	Incumbent	Thomas Rechentin
Minister for Finance		Hartmut Vorjohann born (1963-06-04) 4 June 1963 (age 59)		CDU	20 December 2019	Incumbent	Dirk Diedrichs
Minister for Justice, Democracy, Europe and Equality		Katja Meier born (1979-09-10) 10 September 1979 (age 42)		GREENS	20 December 2019	Incumbent	Mathias Weilandt Gesine Märtens
Minister for Education		Christian Piwarz born (1975-07-23) 23 July 1975 (age 46)		CDU	20 December 2019	Incumbent
Minister for Science		Sebastian Gemkow born (1978-07-27) 27 July 1978 (age 43)		CDU	20 December 2019	Incumbent	Andrea Franke
Minister for Culture and Tourism		Barbara Klepsch born (1965-07-23) 23 July 1965 (age 56)		CDU	20 December 2019	Incumbent	Andrea Franke
Minister for Social Affairs and Social Cohesion		Petra Köpping born (1958-06-12) 12 June 1958 (age 64)		SPD	20 December 2019	Incumbent	Sebastian Vogel Dagmar Neukirch
Minister for Regional Development		Thomas Schmidt born (1961-03-07) 7 March 1961 (age 61)		CDU	20 December 2019	Incumbent	Frank Pfeil
Head of the State Chancellery Minister for Federal Affairs and Media		Oliver Schenk born (1968-08-14) 14 August 1968 (age 53)		CDU	20 December 2019	Incumbent	Conrad Clemens (Representative to the Federal Government)
State Secretary for Digital Administration and Administrative Modernisation		Thomas Popp born (1961-11-08) 8 November 1961 (age 60)		Ind.	20 December 2019	Incumbent

External links

• "The Saxon State Government". State Government of Saxony (in German). Retrieved 16 March 2022.

References

1. "Landtag election results: These coalitions are possible". Süddeutsche Zeitung (in German). 2 September 2019.
2. "2 September 2019". Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (in German).
3. "CDU and Greens also ready to explore Kenya". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). 8 September 2019.
4. "Kenya coalition? 2 weeks after the election, exploratory work begins in Saxony". Euronews (in German). 16 September 2019.
5. "Explorations wrapped up: Saxony is heading towards the Kenya coalition". Der Spiegel (in German). 3 October 2019.
6. "Greens vote for coalition negotiations with CDU and SPD". Die Zeit (in German). 12 October 2019.
7. "Is the Kenya coalition coming?". Sachsen Fernsehen (in German). 21 October 2019.
8. "Government formation: Kenya coalition in Saxony is apparently here". Die Zeit (in German). 30 November 2019.
9. "The coalition stands". Süddeutsche Zeitung (in German). 1 December 2019.
10. "CDU in Saxony votes for alliance with Greens and SPD". Die Zeit (in German). 11 December 2019.
11. "SPD members vote for Kenya coalition". Die Zeit (in German). 16 December 2019.
12. "Kenya coalition in Saxony". Die Zeit (in German). 19 December 2019.
13. "Michael Kretschmer re-elected Minister-President of Saxony". Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (in German). 20 December 2019.
14. "Saxony's Kenya government is sealed". Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (in German). 20 December 2019.