Almost 15 months after the 2021 local elections, it looked as if the formation of a reliable coalition in the Wiesbaden city council was only a matter of days.

The essential points of a common agenda seemed to have been clarified or – like the major Ostfeld project – were left out.

According to reports, there were still problems with the subject of urban planning and the environment and with the appointment of the full-time magistrate.

But now everything is different.

Late on Wednesday evening, the Volt faction, which was elected to the city parliament for the first time, reported a surprising retreat.

"We have informed the leaders of the Greens, SPD and Left that Volt is striving for cooperation instead of a coalition," says a statement from the Volt party.

Oliver Bock

Correspondent for the Rhein-Main-Zeitung for the Rheingau-Taunus district and for Wiesbaden.

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Taking into account the status of negotiations, a general meeting came to the conclusion that more could be achieved for Wiesbaden and the citizens in a cooperation than in a coalition.

According to reports, the leaders of the Greens, SPD and Left were completely surprised by this turnaround, especially since they were not informed about the Volt general meeting on Monday.

Volt is now saying that Wiesbaden needs a "change for the better" - both in terms of content and the way the debate and political culture are dealt with.

Respect, trust and reliability have become rare in political dealings.

As a value-oriented party, Volt "did not want to be trapped in the lack of culture, scandals and infighting of the past".

Rather, Volt wants to build bridges and find constructive and future-oriented solutions across political camps.

But it is not about posts and offices.

Loss of trust and ricochets

When asked about the trigger for the decision in the general meeting, spokesman Thomas Zimmerling said that there had been a loss of confidence after internal information from the negotiations had reached the media.

Zimmerling spoke of "cross passages".

In addition, the talks recently revolved less around the common vision than around the "small-small".

Nevertheless, Volt wants to continue the talks about a cooperation now only called "cooperation" and also conclude them.

Zimmerling rejects a coalition because of the "binding contract" and the necessary coalition discipline.

When new topics arise, Volt wants more legroom.

In his opinion, future talks should primarily be about the content and rules of cooperation, but only in the third step about personnel issues: "And we're still a long way from that." Qualifications of the applicants play the paramount role”, not the party book.

Otherwise, as in the past, this could lead to scandals in Wiesbaden.

Volt wants to focus on more transparency, more accountability and ethical standards as well as measures to strengthen social participation.

"At the same time, we will work for a new political culture that seeks factual exchange, builds bridges and finds pragmatic solutions." Now, however, the decision as to whether and how to proceed lies with the other parliamentary groups.

Yesterday, they were not ready to make individual statements, but reacted together and tight-lipped: They agreed with Volt that the home stretch had been reached in order to reach "a good agreement for future politics" in Wiesbaden.

Volt's announcement that it was only available for a cooperation and not for a coalition "we take note", the three-party statement said.

and the group leaders signed declaration.

The aim is still to agree on a "progressive policy and stable and reliable majorities" for the Hessian state capital Wiesbaden.

The four of us will talk about this in the next few days.

However, the Greens, SPD and Left cannot resist at least a small dig: "Talking to each other is always better than about each other."