Danyal Bayaz, the Finance Minister for Baden-Württemberg (Green Party), stated that he still sees the possibility of a coalition between the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Green Party at the federal level. According to his comments to Spiegel, “A stable CDU from the moderate right is important for our country” adding that a CDU and the Greens could be potential partners in forming future national coalitions.
Bayaz, who was recently sworn in as Finance Minister of the state, currently serves in a cabinet comprised of Greens and CDU members under Premier Cem Özdemir. He has held the position since 2021, even under previous Premier Winfried Kretschmann. Bayaz explained that “the Union and the Greens can bring together two different ‘middles’: the CDU and CSU represent the classic, more conservative center, while we represent the new urban and liberal center”.
Regarding the CDU, Bayaz believes the party has significant potential to regain voters from the AfD by implementing a decisive and effective migration policy. He acknowledged this as the CDU’s political responsibility, clarifying that this does not mean that criticism of that policy should cease when necessary.
Addressing the poor polling numbers of the federal government under Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU), Bayaz wished for the CDU and SPD coalition to achieve success and resilience in the national interest. However, he also emphasized that, as a Green party, his own party must always remain capable of governing.
He urged the Greens to reconsider their future strategy during a Bundestag election campaign. Bayaz suggested that the party should learn from its past electoral results, noting that if the Greens reach only 13 or 15 percent in the polls, they need to evaluate whether adopting a national chancellor candidate is necessary in the next election. In the two past federal elections, the Greens had campaigned with their own chancellor candidates: Annalena Baerbock, the later Foreign Minister, in 2021, and Robert Habeck, the then Federal Minister of Economic Affairs and Vice Chancellor, in 2025.
