Formation
Merz goes to Greens: Yes to climate protection and Ukraine aid
Between the CDU boss and his chancellorship, the approval of the Greens is still a debt pact. He makes offers. But it is still crunching in the Union and SPD itself.
CDU boss Friedrich Merz advertises the support of the Greens for the billion-dollar debt plans of a possible black and red government. On the day after agreement on explorations with the SPD, the Union Chancellor candidate called the inclusion of climate protection projects in the planned special fund and military aid for Ukraine from the defense budget. “We will talk to the Greens in the next week, with the parliamentary group and party leadership,” said Merz on Deutschlandfunk.
Meanwhile, the party directors of the CSU and SPD approved the inclusion of coalition negotiations. The CDU tour wants to advise on Monday. The CDU regulations do not provide for a formal consent of the party board. The negotiations are expected to begin next Thursday.
On Saturday, the Union and SPD had taken the first major hurdle on the way to a common government with their agreement in the exploratory talks. The important financial issues have been resolved, the migration course is demolished and the reform of the civil allowance decided. In the central financial issues, the negotiators had already achieved a breakthrough on Tuesday with the relaxation of the debt brake for defense spending and a gigantic special fund for infrastructure.
“Failure is not a real option for us”
Sharp criticism of the exploratory results came from the Greens, whose consent to planned changes in the Basic Law in the case of debt brake and special funds. Instead of solving structural problems, CDU/CSU and SPD wanted to spill everything with money as in previous black and red governments, said Greens boss Franziska Brantner. “This is poison for our country.” Co-party leader Felix Banaszak emphasized: “We are further away from approval today than in the past few days.”
Merz confirmed his determination to form a government with the SPD. “Failure is not a real option for us,” he said on Deutschlandfunk. There is only this one parliamentary majority in the democratic center of the Bundestag.
“We are almost obliged to enable this government formation now,” said Merz. “And that’s why we rule out this in mutual agreement that this coalition that we are planning could fail on the way there again.”
It is still crunching at the Union and SPD
The exploratory paper is first of all the basis for the upcoming coalition negotiations and therefore only a first step. Some central and high-controversial points have so far been open: including savings in the government spending, the highly controversial heating law of the traffic light coalition, a European deterrent with nuclear weapons and a European peace force for Ukraine. On both sides, critics who push their own top are already stirring to get concessions out.
The SPD link calls for improvements in migration and social policy. The exploratory paper is only a first step as the basis for the coalition negotiations, said the spokesman for the parliamentary left of the SPD parliamentary group, Tim Klüssendorf, the “Rheinische Post” and the editorial network Germany (RND). Some agreements are problematic, especially in the civil allowance and in migration policy.
The Junge Union, in turn, misses “real structural reforms”. In the “Bild” newspaper, JU-boss Johannes Winkel also criticized that the negotiators have left the subject of conscription. “The conscription will have to come, whether you find it politically beautiful or not,” said the chairman of the youth organization. He called for a fairer distribution of loads between the generations. Therefore, one has to “discuss the financing of the upgrade again”.
The former CSU chief and Federal Minister of the Interior Horst Seehofer accused the Union because of the planned huge debt package. That is “the opposite of what we said before the election,” said Seehofer the “Bild am Sonntag”. “Apparently the SPD and Greens had to lose the choice to get what they always wanted.”
Merz is aiming for a degree until Easter. So far, the SPD has not specifically commented on schedules. The view is now aimed at the Greens, which are absolutely needed for the necessary change of basic law by the old Bundestag. The new parliament is constituted on March 25th.
If the Greens are not convinced, the basis for the coalition negotiations is over before they have started properly. Because in the new Bundestag they need a two-thirds majority AfD (cooperation excluded) or left (cooperation extremely difficult).
dpa
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
