Second Kretschmer cabinet

Second Cabinet of Michael Kretschmer
Kretschmer II

10th Cabinet of Saxony
20 December 2019 – 19 December 2024
Michael Kretschmer in March 2022
Date formed20 December 2019
Date dissolved19 December 2024
People and organisations
Minister-PresidentMichael Kretschmer
Deputy Minister-PresidentWolfram Günther
Martin Dulig
No. of ministers12
Member partiesChristian Democratic Union
Alliance 90/The Greens
Social Democratic Party
Status in legislatureCoalition government
67 / 119
Opposition partiesAlternative for Germany
The Left
History
Election2019 Saxony state election
Legislature term7th Landtag of Saxony
PredecessorFirst Kretschmer cabinet
SuccessorThird Kretschmer cabinet

The Second Kretschmer cabinet was the state government of Saxony from 2019 to 2024. It was 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

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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

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Portfolio Minister Party Took office Left office State secretaries
Minister-President Michael Kretschmer
born (1975-05-07) 7 May 1975 (age 49)
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 51)
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 50)
SPD 20 December 2019 Incumbent
  • Thomas Kralinski
  • Ines Fröhlich
Minister for Interior Roland Wöller
born (1970-07-19) 19 July 1970 (age 54)
CDU 20 December 2019 Incumbent
  • Thomas Rechentin
Minister for Finance Hartmut Vorjohann
born (1963-06-04) 4 June 1963 (age 61)
CDU 20 December 2019 Incumbent
  • Dirk Diedrichs
Minister for Justice, Democracy, Europe and Equality Katja Meier
born (1979-09-10) 10 September 1979 (age 45)
GREENS 20 December 2019 Incumbent
  • Mathias Weilandt
  • Gesine Märtens
Minister for Education Christian Piwarz
born (1975-07-23) 23 July 1975 (age 49)
CDU 20 December 2019 Incumbent
Minister for Science Sebastian Gemkow
born (1978-07-27) 27 July 1978 (age 46)
CDU 20 December 2019 Incumbent
  • Andrea Franke
Minister for Culture and Tourism Barbara Klepsch
born (1965-07-23) 23 July 1965 (age 59)
CDU 20 December 2019 Incumbent
  • Andrea Franke
Minister for Social Affairs and Social Cohesion Petra Köpping
born (1958-06-12) 12 June 1958 (age 66)
SPD 20 December 2019 Incumbent
  • Sebastian Vogel
  • Dagmar Neukirch
Minister for Regional Development Thomas Schmidt
born (1961-03-07) 7 March 1961 (age 63)
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 56)
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 63)
Ind. 20 December 2019 Incumbent
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  • "The Saxon State Government". State Government of Saxony (in German). Retrieved 16 March 2022.

References

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