What if a Black-Yellow coalition was possible in Germany in 2005?

Maybe he'd get Defense in this case?

Why did Beckstein not get Interior IOTL in the first place? Not palatable to the SPD?

In the Great coalition the CSU had just 2 ministrys, Economy and Agriculture. It was just no place for Beckstein.

I agree, Defense would have been the only accepltable option for Schäuble.
 
And maybe one more East German, possibly Cornelia Pieper or Karlheinz Paqué from the FDP (due to the FDP surge in Sachsen-Anhalt in 2002, which could be interpreted as a precursor to the federal black-yellow coalition ITTL).
I considered Pieper, but didn't know where to put her besides Education, where Merkel is unlikely to renege on Schavan's appointment. Still, your point about this cabinet needing another Easterner is valid and gives me an idea... so here's my second take.

Chancellor: Angela Merkel (CDU)
Foreign Affairs: Wolfgang Gerhardt (FDP)
Interior: Günther Beckstein (CSU) (going with freivolk's objections, since the civil-libertarian wing of the "bürgerliches Lager" is weaker in 2005 than 2009)
Justice: Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger (FDP) (of course, the CSU's right wing in charge in Interior and the FDP's left wing in Justice is bound to give us some interesting intra-coalition discussions...)
Finance: Edmund Stoiber (CSU) (I thought to have Kirchhof as SoS, but that's not legally possible unless he enters the CDU and runs for Bundestag... hm.)
Economy: Guido Westerwelle (FDP) (Vice Chancellor)
Labour: Peter Müller (CDU)
Food&Agriculture: Gerda Hasselfeldt (CSU)
Defense: Wolfgang Schäuble (CDU)
Women and stuff: Ursula von der Leyen (CDU)
Health: Horst Seehofer (CSU)
Environment: Katherina Reiche (CDU) (ticks all the boxes, being an Eastern woman with a science background and bringing the ministries distribution to 8-4-4. Is also bound to be controversial since she is pro-nuclear-energy and pro-GMO.)
Education: Annette Schavan (CDU)
Foreign aid: Jürgen Koppelin (FDP)
Minister without portfolio and Chief of Staff: Thomas de Maizière (CDU)
 
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I considered Pieper, but didn't know where to put her besides Education, where Merkel is unlikely to renege on Schavan's appointment. Still, your point about this cabinet needing another Easterner is valid and gives me an idea... so here's my second take.

Chancellor: Angela Merkel (CDU)
Foreign Affairs: Wolfgang Gerhardt (FDP)
Interior: Günther Beckstein (CSU) (going with freivolk's objections, since the civil-libertarian wing of the "bürgerliches Lager" is weaker in 2005 than 2009)
Justice: Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger (FDP) (of course, the CSU's right wing in charge in Interior and the FDP's left wing in Justice is bound to give us some interesting intra-coalition discussions...)
Finance: Edmund Stoiber (CSU) (I thought to have Kirchhof as SoS, but that's not legally possible unless he enters the CDU and runs for Bundestag... hm.)
Economy: Guido Westerwelle (FDP) (Vice Chancellor)
Labour: Peter Müller (CDU)
Food&Agriculture: Gerda Hasselfeldt (CSU)
Defense: Wolfgang Schäuble (CDU)
Women and stuff: Ursula von der Leyen (CDU)
Health: Horst Seehofer (CSU)
Environment: Katherina Reiche (CDU) (ticks all the boxes, being an Eastern woman with a science background and bringing the ministries distribution to 8-4-4. Is also bound to be controversial since she is pro-nuclear-energy and pro-GMO.)
Education: Annette Schavan (CDU)
Foreign aid: Jürgen Koppelin (FDP)
Minister without portfolio and Chief of Staff: Thomas de Maizière (CDU)

Looks good to me. Reiches pro-nuke stance wouldn´t be problematic, because Merkel was very pro-nuke till this small incident in 2011.
 
You're right, I forgot the election was in September. Good point about the FDP not going along with a Keynesian response.
You're right, I forgot the election was in September. Good point about the FDP not going along with a Keynesian response.
Doubtful that the FDP would took such a ideological stance. I mean IOTL they were 2009 in a much stronger position and still couldn´t push through their election promises of tax cuts.
Mutti will simply say "alternativlos" and the FDP will jump like ordered.
 
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