Wednesday, November 03, 2021
Clear differences
Some of the traffic lights flicker considerably
In remarkable isolation, the SPD, Greens and FDP are working on a coalition agreement. But behind closed doors, the negotiators do not find each other on all issues. There are also different demands within the Greens. And so the list of topics for the final executive round grows.
There are initial dissonances in the negotiations on the formation of the first traffic light coalition in Germany at the federal level. According to numerous negotiators, the more detailed discussions between the SPD, Greens and FDP revealed controversial issues such as climate protection, finances, the treatment of refugees, dealing with Poles and nuclear participation. In addition, there are tensions not only across party lines, but also internally among the Greens on climate protection policy. Nevertheless, all respondents emphasized that they are on the right track.
“My impression is that there is not a single working group that is going completely in the wrong direction,” said a traffic light negotiator. The 22 working groups with almost 300 politicians paused this Wednesday to take stock of the negotiations so far. The results were first presented within the party. Then the two general secretaries of the SPD and FDP, Lars Klingbeil and Volker Wissing, as well as the Greens federal manager Michael Kellner wanted to advise on the state of affairs.
Differences also within the Greens
All three parties showed that they were satisfied with the confidentiality that had been maintained so far. “We are making good progress,” said Greens co-boss Robert Habeck. At the same time, he indicated that the detailed operational implementation of the positions decided in the exploratory paper would not be easy. In view of the large differences in the election manifestos of the SPD, Greens and FDP, this was to be expected, said a negotiator.
According to information from all three parties, the Greens are also in a tight spot internally when it comes to climate protection. There is unrest in their own ranks, which has also called the party leadership on the plan, admitted Green representatives. The reason is passages from the exploratory paper that was jointly agreed upon. This made ambitious climate protection more difficult, especially in the transport sector.
Pressure comes from environmental associations, and the Greens youth were also dissatisfied. Representatives of the SPD and FDP explained that the Green negotiators wanted to relativize and modify the formulations. 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.
But there are also differences in other places. The “Bild” reported that there was a dispute between the Greens and the FDP as to whether arriving refugees should immediately receive comprehensive medical care. There is also a crunch on other topics. The SPD does not want to deal with the national-conservative government in Poland in the dispute over the rule of law as harshly as the previous opposition parties, it was said in negotiating circles.
Party leaders have to work
In the area of foreign policy, the topic of “nuclear participation” has to be postponed because there was no agreement here with the Greens, who have problems with a term such as “deterrent potential”. The question of whether Germany will continue to station US nuclear weapons in the future and use its own aircraft in the event of a conflict is one of the most controversial questions in the negotiations.
Negotiators from other areas also emphasized that it was difficult to imagine that the 22 working groups could reach an agreement on all points, as had been requested by the group of leaders. “Next week there will be feedback to the chief negotiators that there will be a number of open, controversial points that can only be resolved at the top level.”
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.