VZCZCXRO8723
RR RUEHAG RUEHDF RUEHLZ
DE RUEHFT #4316/01 1741222
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 231222Z JUN 06
FM AMCONSUL FRANKFURT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5269
INFO RUCNFRG/FRG COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 FRANKFURT 004316 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/AGS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PINR GM
SUBJECT: New Cabinets in Rheinland-Pfalz, Baden-Wuerttemberg -- Few 
Surprises 
 
REF: A) Frankfurt 2124, B) Frankfurt 1927 
 
Sensitive but unclassified; not for internet distribution. 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY:  On May 18 and June 14, state parliaments in 
Rheinland-Pfalz (R-P) and Baden-Wuerttemberg (B-W) re-elected 
incumbent Minister-Presidents Kurt Beck (SPD/Social Democrats) and 
Guenther Oettinger (CDU/Christian Democrats) respectively.  In 
addition to full support from their own parties, both received votes 
from the opposition (in secret ballots).  While Beck's new cabinet 
appointments met widespread approval, Oettinger drew criticism for 
leaving the Baden-Wuerttemberg cabinet essentially unchanged.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
--------------------------- 
The Rheinland-Pfalz Cabinet 
--------------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) The R-P Social Democrats' absolute majority gave it control 
of the two ministries that had been under Free Democratic Party 
(FDP) management during the longtime SPD-FDP coalition.  Those 
additional ministries gave Minister-President (M-P) Beck the 
opportunity to promote young lieutenants into positions of 
visibility and responsibility.  The new parliament re-elected Beck 
with 54 out of 101 votes (i.e., one more than the SPD's 53 seats). 
Interestingly, the extra vote must have come from the ranks of 
disheartened Christian Democrats who had suffered their worst 
election defeat ever in the state, since the FDP abstained from 
voting (and Greens are no longer represented). 
 
¶3. (U) The new R-P Cabinet (all SPD): 
-- Kurt Beck (Minister-President) 
-- Prof. Dr. Juergen Zoellner (Deputy Minister-President and 
Minister for Science, Continued Education, Research and Culture) 
-- Malu Dreyer (Minister for Labor, Social Affairs, Family and 
Health) 
-- Doris Ahnen (Minister for Education, Women and Youth) 
-- Karl Peter Bruch (Minister for Interior and Sports) 
-- Prof. Dr. Ingolf Deubel (Minister for Finance - new) 
-- Dr. Heinz Georg Bamberger (Minister for Justice - new) 
-- Hendrik Hering (Minister for Economics, Transportation, 
Agriculture and Viniculture - new) 
-- Margit Conrad (Minister for Environment and Consumer 
Protection). 
 
-------------------------------- 
Baden-Wuerttemberg State Cabinet 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (U) In the March 26 state election, the B-W CDU took 69 of the 
139 seats in the parliament (one seat short of an absolute majority) 
and holds a comfortable 14 seat majority along with its traditional 
coalition partner, the FDP.  Oettinger gained election as 
Minister-President with 85 votes, one vote more than the coalition's 
seats -- the second time that Oettinger has received votes from the 
opposition in secret balloting. 
 
¶5. (U) The B-W Cabinet (CDU except where indicated): 
-- M-P Guenther Oettinger 
-- Prof. Dr. Ulrich Goll (FDP - Justice Minister and Deputy Minister 
President) 
-- Willi Staechele (Minister at the State Chancellery and for 
European Affairs) 
-- Heribert Rech (Minister of Interior) 
-- Helmut Rau (Minister for Education, Youth and Sports) 
-- Prof. Dr. Peter Frankenberg (Minister for Science, Research and 
Arts) 
-- Gerhard Stratthaus (Minister for Finance) 
-- Ernst Pfister (FDP - Minister for Economics) 
-- Peter Hauk (Minister for Agriculture and Consumer Protection) 
-- Dr. Monika Stolz (Minister for Social Affairs and Employment) 
-- Tanja Goenner (Minister for Environment) 
-- Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Reinhard (Minister and Representative in 
Berlin) 
-- Prof. Dr. Claudia Huebner (Council of State for Demographic 
Change and Senior Citizens). 
 
------- 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) Beck's decision to include younger SPD leaders in the 
Rheinland-Pfalz cabinet is likely part of his effort to groom new 
state leadership for the SPD.  Contacts within the R-P SPD privately 
recognize that much of the party's strength within the state is 
based on Beck's personal popularity and that the time to solidify 
 
FRANKFURT 00004316  002 OF 002 
 
 
the next generation of leadership is now.  With Beck as national SPD 
chief and a potential contender in 2009 federal elections, state 
party activists are forced to consider an exit strategy that paves 
the way for a successor while minimizing internal party fallout. 
 
¶7. (SBU) In contrast, the "status quo" Baden-Wuerttemberg cabinet 
(no new ministers) sparked widespread criticism.  Oettinger's 
supporters (the "progressive" camp within the CDU, who appeal to 
urban and educated voters) had hoped for a cabinet shuffle as the 
signal of a new beginning.  The opposition -- and even some 
Oettinger supporters -- criticized his failure to bring in new faces 
as a sign that he will "go slow" in modernizing the decades-long 
conservative hold on power in that state.  END COMMENT. 
 
AKER