Hendrik Wüst remains prime minister in North Rhine-Westphalia. With 106 out of 181 votes, he is re-elected to the state parliament. The 46-year-old is leading the first black-green alliance in the state.
The CDU politician Hendrik Wüst has been re-elected Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia. The 46-year-old was confirmed as head of government in the state parliament in a secret ballot with 106 out of 181 valid votes in the first ballot, 74 voted no with one abstention. There were no invalid votes or counter-candidates. Wüst needed at least 98 votes to be re-elected.
Shortly before, the CDU and Greens from their parliamentary groups had reported a total of five cases of illness. According to the President of the State Parliament, André Kuper, a total of 14 out of 195 MPs were excused. Wüst, who has headed a black-yellow coalition for the past eight months, is now leading the country's first black-green coalition. With 115 out of a total of 195 mandates, the CDU and Greens have a solid majority. Black and yellow had ruled for five years with just one vote.
Last October, Wüst was elected as the twelfth prime minister of the most populous state as the successor to the failed chancellor candidate Armin Laschet - as was the second prime minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Karl Arnold, at the age of 46. None of the country's other heads of government was younger when they took office.
On Monday, Wüst signed the 146-page "Future Contract for North Rhine-Westphalia" together with the negotiator for the Greens, Mona Neubaur, and other party leaders. Party conferences on both sides approved this government basis with a large majority at the weekend. This Wednesday, with the presentation and swearing-in of the black-green cabinet, the last act of forming a government is due.
On May 15, the CDU emerged as the clear winner of the state elections in the most populous federal state with 35.7 percent. The Greens were able to almost triple their share of the vote compared to 2017 to 18.2 percent and ended up in third place behind the collapsed SPD (26.7). The Free Democrats had halved their election result to 5.9 percent. Black and yellow could therefore no longer govern. The AfD won 5.4 percent.
