The state capital is Dresden, the other two independent cities are Leipzig and Chemnitz. The state government and the Saxon parliament are located in Dresden. The parliament determines the basic orientations of the political events. Every five years the government in Saxony is newly elected - for the next time in September 2019. Currently Saxony is governed in a coalition of CDU and SPD. The strongest party of the government is the governing prime minister, the highest chairman of the state. The current Prime Minister of Saxony has been Michael Kretschmer of the CDU since December 2017.