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A Grand Coalition Government for Kenya?

'The Most Neutral Solution Possible'

Can peace be brought to Kenya? Last week, a curious mission from Berlin sought to help rival political parties out of the current crisis. The solution proposed is a coalition modelled on Berlin.

Ask most people in Germany, and they'll tell you that the government in Berlin -- which pairs the country's two largest parties in a "grand coalition" -- is hardly a model of efficiency. Reform, they'll tell you, is but a fading memory.

But the government is stable -- which is why former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan asked a leading German diplomat to head down to Kenya last week to give lessons on how grand coalitions work. Annan hopes that a power-sharing agreement like the one in Berlin can help Kenya out of a spiral of violence it has found itself in. More than 1,000 people have died in the country in violence sparked by a rigged December election that saw President Mwai Kibaki, an ethnic Kikuyu, defeat Raila Ordina, a Luo.

Gernot Erler of the center-left Social Democrats (SPD) spent a couple days in Kinshasa explaining the details of his party's coalition with Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats. Erler, who is a deputy in Germany's foreign ministry, spoke with SPIEGEL about his experience consulting leaders of the violence-torn country.

SPIEGEL: You were the only foreign politician to attend secret negotiations aimed at building a new government in Kenya. Why?

Erler: Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier offered Annan his help. Annan then called, suddenly, and said he needed an expert on grand coalition governments.

SPIEGEL: In Germany, though, there is frustration over the grand coalition (because it has been plagued by paralyzing compromises and inaction on important issues). And now you want to try to turn it into a popular export?

Erler: Over a thousand people were killed after the elections in Kenya. All attempts up until now to create a national unity government have failed. The grand coalition simply happened to be the model Annan thought would be the most neutral solution possible.

SPIEGEL: What interested the Kenyans?

Erler: I described to them how you negotiate a coalition contract, how to build trust and how to manage crises. But they were especially interested in the apportionment of ministries.

SPIEGEL: What tip did you give?

Erler: I explained the example of Germany's federal government and how one can find a fair balance: One (party) gets to choose the foreign minister, the other the defense minister. One gets Justice the other the Interior Ministry. There is Finance and Economics and so on. In Kenya, President Mwai Kibaki had already given 17 of the most important 30 posts to his people.

SPIEGEL: Did you also warn against making overly big compromises, like in the case of Germany's public health funds?

Erler: A new government in Kenya faces enormous challenges -- nationwide reforms or even a new constitution. My message was a objective as possible: (Grand coalitions) are an exceptional system that are only applied from time to time in democracies. I avoided taking any sides.

SPIEGEL: Did you also explain to them how you can terminate a grand coalition government?

Erler: Kofi Annan proposed building a government that would last for two years in order to set a time limit for the coalition from the very start. In Germany, that wouldn't be so easy.

SPIEGEL: So does Kenya now have a grand coalition?

Erler: The negotiations are continuing. Failure, though, would be a disaster for the country.