Even if the word “turning point” is now being used in an inflationary manner: in North Rhine-Westphalia it could actually happen soon.
In Germany's most populous federal state, the two big winners of the state elections are moving in the direction of a historic coalition beyond the previous camp boundaries of red-green and black-yellow, which have long since been broken elsewhere.
NRW has not been the homeland of the SPD for years.
Since 2005, red and black have alternated in power in the federal state that has meanwhile mutated into a “swing state”.
The alliance that is now emerging between the CDU and the Greens could become a model for the federal government.
If it works here, why not in Berlin?
In Düsseldorf it will be important that the connection between ecology and economy is successful with a view to the goal of climate neutrality at the most important German industrial location.
To do this, Hendrik Wüst and Mona Neubaur must develop a relationship of trust similar to that which the outgoing Hessian Prime Minister Volker Bouffier and his deputy Tarek Al-Wazir have built up since 2013 in Germany's first black-green coalition in a non-city state.
Bouffier's designated successor, Boris Rhein, will not be allowed to gamble away this if he is elected.