Overview
- Finance Minister Robert Crumbach quit the BSW and was unanimously admitted to the SPD parliamentary group after announcing his exit on January 5.
- Ex-BSW deputy speaker Jouleen Gruhn also joined the SPD group, while André von Ossowski left the BSW faction and now sits outside it.
- All ministers remain in office as Dietmar Woidke leads a temporary minority government and prepares to open coalition negotiations with the CDU.
- With Crumbach and Gruhn, the SPD holds 34 seats; together with the CDU’s 12 seats, a prospective coalition would command 46 of 88 seats.
- The AfD called a special Landtag session to push for new elections, which Woidke rejects, while trade unions warn that extended instability threatens jobs and urge a swift, stable majority.