Black-Red in crisis: “Final rescue shot” becomes the topic of the retreat this weekend

Things continue to simmer within the conservative-red coalition in Berlin. Persistent rumors persist that junior partner SPD intends to terminate the coalition before the end of the legislative period in a year. According to this, the party could turn away from the CDU and have its own candidate elected as Governing Mayor with the help of the still existing red-green-red majority.

In light of such speculation, a long-planned coalition retreat appears in a completely different light. The CDU and SPD plan to meet this weekend at the secluded Sober estate near Nauen in the Havelland region to discuss joint projects that still need to be addressed.

Berlin's coalition talks about headscarves and police powers

In addition to the ongoing budget issue – the double budget for 2026/27 will again present a number of unreasonable demands – the Berlin Neutrality Act is also at issue. In its current form, the law is unconstitutional because, according to the Federal Constitutional Court, it discriminates against (Muslim) women who want to wear headscarves as teachers in Berlin schools and are currently denied employment. Reportedly, the CDU is now likely to agree to a passage in the law that generally permits headscarves for female teachers – unless peace in schools is at risk. However, the Green Party's proposal that female police officers and judges should also be allowed to wear headscarves while on duty is not expected to meet with approval.

Another topic is the General Security and Order Act (ASOG), or Police Act for short. A minor reform two years ago included longer detention for terror suspects and violent offenders, as well as a wider use of body cameras and tasers. This time, it's the turn of the major reform, "the big push," as the CDU calls it.

All parties involved are remaining private in order not to undermine some of the painstakingly crafted compromises. Nevertheless, it is clear that there should be more video surveillance overall, especially with clear rules. For example, the storage periods for videos from the now 6,600 surveillance cameras in subways, buses, and BVG stations are to be extended. Instead of the current two days, the videos will be stored for four days in the future. An extension of the ban on entering homes for perpetrators of domestic violence is also planned.

It will be interesting to see whether there will be any wording regarding the so-called final rescue shot, the targeted fatal shot by police officers. Berlin police officers have been demanding clear regulations on this for years, if only to ensure legal certainty. Only Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Berlin have no provisions on this in their police laws .

Coalition meeting: Will Berlin provide the “final rescue shot”?

In Berlin, each individual officer has to decide on their own responsibility whether to pull the trigger, for example, to kill a hostage-taker to prevent the latter from killing someone. Elsewhere, this is decided by the commander. The coalition agreement between the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Social Democratic Party (SPD) states: "The coalition aims to legally regulate the final rescue shot by police officers as a last resort in order to protect people in extreme danger to life and limb."

If these issues at the Stober estate go through relatively smoothly, it certainly wouldn't sound like a clash between the conservatives and the reds. And the SPD, in particular, is offering reassuring tones: No, there is no crisis, quite the opposite. Rather, what's expected in Havelland is "a celebration of the factions."

Coalition meeting: “A celebration of the factions” or “a drinking spree”?

But be careful, this celebration shouldn't be too unbridled. A parliamentary group retreat at the same location in February 2024 is said to have escalated into an "expensive drinking spree," as participants subsequently reported to media representatives. The party executives reportedly "drank heavily" until late into the night.

The following Monday, Green Party parliamentary group leader Werner Graf expressed his "complete perplexity and anger that the conservative-red coalition is embarking on a working retreat that ultimately turns out to be nothing more than an expensive drinking spree." If this government "were to get down to business, they would also be entitled to an after-work beer." Either way, he said, it was high time the conservative-red coalition addressed the city's challenges "instead of drinking each other under the table."

At the time, the CDU parliamentary group spoke of, literally, "fake news." The working meeting was consistently constructive and characterized by a friendly atmosphere.