Formation
Tough negotiations – Union and SPD hope for “closing curve”
As expected, the final phase of the coalition negotiations between the Union and the SPD is not a sugar. An end is not in sight – but there are hopeful tones.
Despite gradual progress, a successful conclusion to the tough coalition negotiations from the Union and the SPD is not yet foreseeable even on difficult topics. Nevertheless, the claim expressed by CDU boss Friedrich Merz in the evening of the Bundestag election of having a finished coalition agreement under the roof and subject by Easter is still feasible.
There is a willingness on all sides to “slowly bend into a final curve,” said CSU state group leader Alexander Dobrindt before another round of advice at the SPD headquarters in Berlin. From participant circles it could be heard that the talks will continue on Saturday and on Monday. A further days behind the scenes are also considered very likely – just like an agreement in the coming week.
“Still a decent way to go away”
“We are coming forward,” said SPD vice and social minister Hubertus Heil of the German Press Agency. The CDU negotiator Thorsten Frei still expects the negotiations to run into the next week: “There is still a decent piece to go away. And that’s why I assume that we will go into the next week.”
As a rule, the particularly controversial questions always have to be united by the party leader in small rounds. To do this, the large round of negotiations must be interrupted.
No CDU board meeting on Monday
Meanwhile, negotiations are also swirling in -house. On Monday, no meetings of the CDU tops are to take place, as was confirmed from the party headquarters. According to reports from the “Rheinische Post” and the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”, a board meeting with reference to the ongoing coalition negotiations was canceled – to the annoyance of some in the CDU.
Both sides of the Union and SPD spoke of progress in the negotiations. “We are moving together,” said Frei, the parliamentary managing director of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag. “It is now basically about we clearing the stumbling blocks out of the way.”
Dobrindt: Thanks to a lot of dynamics, things could already be solved
Dobrindt said that on Thursday there was “a lot of dynamics in the room” and “things could be solved together”. He therefore assumes that “we will make great progress today and at the weekend”. On Saturday you want to tackle “a few tricky tasks”, because “big tasks” are still standing in front of the negotiators.
Difficult financial situation makes debate more difficult
The negotiations apart from the content of the differences are particularly difficult by the tense financial situation of the federal government. The same applies to the incomprehensible consequences of the recent customs announcements by US President Donald Trump, with consequences, also for the high-export German economy. The Union and SPD are raining a quick recovery of the German economy in order to be able to implement the many expensive projects.
“Today it is primarily about topics of content, but of course you always have to have the finances,” said Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania’s SPD President Manuela Schwesig. Although they also expect negotiations to continue, they also said that it was still 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.
