Thursday, November 4th, 2021
Coalition negotiations stall
Greens are dissatisfied with the traffic lights
Will it soon be over with the harmony in the coalition negotiations? The SPD, the Greens and the FDP do not present a new schedule according to their internal interim results. The Greens are even openly dissatisfied with the current state of negotiations.
The negotiations to form the first traffic light coalition in the federal government are not progressing as quickly as the SPD, Greens and FDP had hoped. After an interim review of the negotiations in the 22 working groups, the three parties decided not to publish a further detailed timetable. “We are currently seeing too little progress in terms of the substance of the content,” said Greens federal manager Michael Kellner.
The SPD and FDP, on the other hand, said they wanted to stick to the plan that all working groups should conclude their deliberations by 6 p.m. next Wednesday. When the main negotiating group will meet is still unclear, it was said in FDP circles.
As early as Wednesday it was reported that there are initial dissonances between the parties and also tensions, for example within the Greens, about the climate protection course. Numerous negotiators had stated that the more detailed discussions would come to difficult points, some of which could not yet be resolved. You might not be able to deliver an agreement by November 10th.
Greens in a bind when it comes to climate protection
This affected areas as diverse as climate protection, finances, dealing with Poland or nuclear participation. The responsibility for this was seen by representatives of the three parties with the other parties. The differences are not only felt between the Greens and the FDP, as expected, the news agency Reuters learned from negotiating circles. There are also problems with the SPD in several places because, contrary to the rhetoric of new beginnings, it argues in a “structurally conservative” way.
In the case of SPD negotiators, however, it is pointed out that it is sometimes noticeable that the Greens and FDP come from the opposition. According to information from all three parties, the Greens are also getting in a tight spot internally when it comes to climate protection. There was unrest in their own ranks, Green officials had already admitted on Wednesday. The reason is passages from the jointly agreed exploratory paper. This made ambitious climate protection more difficult, especially in the transport sector, said critics.
Representatives of the SPD and FDP said that the Greens negotiators wanted to change the wording in the exploratory paper. This led to the other side also threatening to make changes to other passages. At the center of the debate are the sentences relating to the existing climate protection law. These are interpreted as a weakening of the currently applicable regulations.
Parties continue to rely on agreement
The 22 working groups with almost 300 participants paused on Wednesday to take stock. The traffic light parties have set a tight schedule and want to elect the SPD politician Olaf Scholz as the new Federal Chancellor in the week of December 6th. To do this, however, they would have to conclude the negotiations in the second half of November so that the party committees or special party congresses can approve a coalition agreement in good time.
Despite the differences, all those questioned emphasized that an agreement was still being sought. It was “so far everything normal”, it was said in FDP circles. According to the research institute DIW, the “super depreciation” planned by the traffic light parties could ensure more investments for companies, but also tear deep holes in the budget. Should the depreciation period for investments be shortened from ten to four years, the government deficit would be up to 40 billion euros higher per year.