Centre Party WalksPolicy differences between coalition partners ends government after just one month. Snap elections, however, seem unlikely. Sabine Beck announces the Centre Party will be leaving the government.Just one month after the four-party coalition of Chancellor Elsa Kuel was sworn in, the Centre Party has left the government. It’s two ministers, Sabine Beck (Finance) and Julia Weiss (Education and Culture), met with backbench MPs to discuss the walkout in the late hours of yesterday evening. Speaking to a DNS reporter outside Parliament, Sabine Beck had this to say:
It is becoming increasingly clear that this new administration is intent on pursuing policies that are vastly different to what our party stands for. We entered this coalition under good faith, believing that we could reach compromises on wide range of issues. However, this is proving to not be the case.
Sources close to Beck revealed that the ADA’s lurch to right under new leader Esther Fischer was a primary reason leading to the Centre Party’s decision. Fischer, who overwhelmingly won the ADA leadership last month, continued as Foreign Minister following the election despite her party losing 93 seats and 15% of the vote. While her combative style may have proved popular with grassroots members of the ADA, it has certainly alienated some of her cabinet colleagues. One of Fischer’s proposals, which is known to have particularly disturbed Centre Party MPs, is her intent on reversing abortion rights.
On this issue, Julia Weiss said:
Our party has fought for hard for women to have the right to choose what to do with their own bodies....we will not be part of a government that takes those rights aways. It is regrettable that it has come to this so soon after the election. This does not mean the end of cooperation; there are policy areas, particularly with the HVV and DVP on deeper regionalisation, that we still agree on.
Julia Weiss during a DNS interview.A statement from Centre Party HQ, went on:
The Centre Party will continue to work constructively with every party in the Federal Assembly, including the ADA. However, our beliefs and values, when challenged, will always be more important to us than seats at the cabinet table’
Ironically, the party appears more united now than what it did before the election, despite the loss of 61 seats. Robert Holman’s win as President, and the emergence of Sabine Beck as the likely successor to party chairman Christian Mayer, has made the Centre Party more coherent in its outlook.
After contacting the office of President Holman, a short statement was released:
I respect the decision of any party, whether left or right. The decision by the Centre Party to leave the government was one taken entirely by the parliamentary faction. As President, I continue to unreservedly support the incumbent government.
Chancellor Elsa Kuel will almost certainly announce a reshuffle in the coming days; now that the government is short of a majority, it is likely that she will invite the KRA to take the Centre Party’s place. A like-for-like for swap of cabinet posts remains to be seen.