Government formation: S exploitation under time pressure: First results before Thursday?

The dusting between the USA and Ukraine sets the Union and SPD in their exploratory talks about the formation of a government under time pressure. The financial issues that are so important for further Ukraine aid should now be clarified very quickly-if possible until the EU summit on Thursday. After their first exploratory round last Friday, the negotiating groups on both sides continued in the evening. Another round is to follow on Tuesday.

“In my view, the urgency is great,” said CDU boss Friedrich Merz before the meeting. The aim is to clarify the financial issues before the EU summit on Thursday. But it is open whether that works. SPD boss Lars Klingbeil also said: “We are ready to get to agreement this week very quickly.”

Silent about content agreed

Union and the SPD have agreed not to take their negotiations, which take place again in a building in the Bundestag in the Berlin government district. The Prime Minister of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Manuela Schwesig (SPD), recalled before the session that “the challenges grow up every day for Germany and Europe”. It was confident that against this background you will be progressed in the next few days.

Merz hopes that there will be the first results on Wednesday. Then a conversation between the Union and SPD party leaders with the outgoing Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) is planned in preparation for the EU summit. Scholz does not take part in the exploratory talks, but continues the government transactions as normal. He will represent Germany’s interests at the important special summit in Brussels. Since the upcoming decisions extend far into the term of office of a new government, coordination with the potential successor is common.

Europeans want to agree to Trump

At the summit in Brussels, the Europeans want to react to the scandal between US President Donald Trump and the Ukrainian President Wolodymyr Selenskyj and stake a course on the way to peace for Ukraine. It will be about further financial and military aid for the country attacked by Russia, but also the strengthening of the European armed forces in order to become more independent from the United States.

Both Merz and Klingbeil emphasized that financial clarity must not only be created for Ukraine and national defense, but also for other areas such as infrastructure, social and economic competitiveness. There have been two separate special funds in the three -digit billion dollar sector for defense and infrastructure since the weekend. An alternative is a reform of the debt brake in order to fundamentally expand the freedom of finance.

Does the old Bundestag decide?

For both steps, a change in the Basic Law and thus a two-thirds majority in the Bundestag would be necessary not to have the Union and SPD in the new parliament itself together with the Greens. AfD and left can block.

Therefore, a decision of the old parliament is considered before the dissolution on March 25. Merz denied that they had already agreed on March 10 as an appointment for a special meeting. Even the exact size of possible special funds has not yet been discussed, he said.

Söder does not want to take political Ash Wednesday

In order to have further room for negotiations on Wednesday, the SPD negotiators canceled their participation in the traditional events on political Ash Wednesday. However, the CSU does not work. Party leader Markus Söder wants to go on stage as usual in Passau as usual.