"United" is written at the entrance to the Kunstinsel cultural center, which is close to the Schleyer-Halle and the Stuttgart Mercedes plant.

The Greens and the CDU in Baden-Württemberg chose the location because – a year after the formation of the green-black coalition – they wanted to celebrate their success with organic fizzy drinks.

But nothing came of the celebration week: First Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann (Greens) announced on Tuesday that by 2026, instead of 1000 wind turbines, only a maximum of 500 would be created.

Then the Stuttgart public prosecutor's office began investigations against Interior Minister Thomas Strobl (CDU) on Wednesday evening.

The interior and constitution minister is said to have instigated a journalist to disseminate reports of court hearings and handed him a lawyer's letter.

Ruediger Soldt

Political correspondent in Baden-Württemberg.

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The background to the investigation is the disciplinary and investigation proceedings against the state police inspector Andreas R., who has since been suspended from service and is accused of sexually harassing a chief inspector in a video chat.

Strobl no longer disputes the publication of the lawyer's letter, but he considers his behavior to be legally permissible.

The journalist had reported on the lawyer's letter, and the Stuttgart public prosecutor's office is also investigating him.

Little danger from their own ranks

Strobl justifies his actions by saying that he wanted to create maximum transparency in the process.

The lawyer made an offer to the ministry to settle the disciplinary proceedings, an approach that Strobl believes is highly problematic.

It remains a mystery why the minister did not simply inform the lawyer in writing that he was not interested.

At the annual press conference in the rooms of the Kulturinsel, the parliamentary group leaders Andreas Schwarz (Greens) and Manuel Hagel (CDU) answered only one question about the budget and a dozen about the Strobl case, as expected.

"Thomas Strobl is a decent person and a good minister.

I would have liked to have answered other questions, but we are experiencing tougher conditions," said Schwarz.

And Hagel, who owes his rise from the municipal council in the Alb-Donau district to the parliamentary group leader to the CDU leader Strobl, said: "He's a decent guy and a very good interior minister."

The presumption of innocence applies to Strobl.

The investigations are just beginning.

Referring to the politically difficult situation in Europe (war and inflation) and in the country (resignation demands for the deputy prime minister and architect of the green-black coalition), Hagel added: "If everything seems obvious, nothing is obvious." Hagel, Schwarz and der Prime Minister rejected the SPD and FDP demands for Strobl's resignation.

We now have to wait for the results of the investigation by the public prosecutor.

The question is whether and how long these oaths of allegiance will last: On the one hand, many resignations are known from the history of the Federal Republic in which the public prosecutor has not yet had to take action.

On the other hand, Strobl admitted his mistake in handing the journalist a letter from a lawyer in the non-public meeting of the Interior Committee on Wednesday.

So it could be that the investigation ends with a fine, which would also be a burden for a constitutional minister.

Unlike in the first green-black legislative period, Strobl faces relatively little danger from within his own ranks: there is no obvious successor to the office of interior minister.

For the CDU parliamentary group leader Manuel Hagel, Strobl's resignation would be extremely inconvenient: Hagel is the parliamentary group leader, he could become CDU state chairman in the next regular election and then the top candidate for the next state election in 2026.

The Greens also want to avoid turbulence in the government if possible.

The SPD parliamentary group leader Andreas Stoch repeated his resignation request on Thursday: "The minister broke the confidentiality of the disciplinary proceedings, he violated the personal rights and his duty of care for the former state police inspector." Those are enough reasons for a resignation.