Future government: coalition negotiations shortly before the finish line

Almost four weeks after the start of the coalition negotiations, the Union and SPD are apparently about to finish. After around 13 hours of advice, the top politicians ended their talks without the final shortly before midnight. From negotiating circles, however, it was said that the goal was an agreement until Wednesday afternoon. The talks are to be continued at 9.30 a.m. at the CDU party center. Union circles also said, CDU boss Friedrich Merz wanted to inform the party’s closest management circle, the presidium, about the status of the negotiations.

Throughout Tuesday, the Union and SPD had struggled to compromise on the agreement – in changing conversation formats and repeatedly interrupted by individual consultations within the parties. Last but not least, President Donald Trump’s international situation and the customs policy of the US government put the negotiators under additional pressure to collect. Experts see new recession dangers and problems for the export-oriented German economy because of the US tariffs. Merz wants to keep against falling corporate taxes, less bureaucracy and lower energy prices.

S exploures, working groups, main negotiators

Already five days after the Bundestag election, the Union, as the election winner, had recorded exploratory talks with the SPD about the formation of a coalition. In fact, there is no alternative to the black-red coalition because black and green would not have a majority and a collaboration with the AfD is clearly excluded from the Union.

Just a few days after the start of the conversation, on March 4, CDU, CSU and SPD agreed on a financial package of historical extent for defense and infrastructure. Together with the Greens, the old Bundestag with the necessary two-thirds majority still passed changes in the Basic Law in order to loosen the debt brake for defense expenditure there and to create a special fund for infrastructure and climate protection in terms of 500 billion euros.

“Wish something” in working groups

On March 8, the explorations ended with an eleven -page paper and the recommendation to record coalition negotiations. These started formally on March 13th. 16 working groups were used, which should work out details on various topics within a week and a half. In the end, the working group papers contained a number of agreements, but also differences in numerous points, which should then clear the 19 -person main negotiating round. Merz also criticized that in some working groups the heading had probably “wished you”.

While the working group papers came to the public, almost nothing gave out the rounds of the chief negotiators. Politicians from the 19-round round always gave interviews, but in terms of content, hardly any prize. Negotiations were met in the SPD and CDU headquarters and in the Bavarian State Representation in Berlin. Financial issues, for example on the tax system and migration policy, were considered the greatest chunks in the negotiations.

In the CDU, annoyance was repeatedly loud during the coalition negotiations. In response to the course of the course of the party leader Merz, a third of the CDU city association in Kühlungsborn (district of Rostock) left the party at the debt brake. The Junge Union threatened a no to a coalition agreement in which Merz’s change in the election campaign is not anchored. And there is also resentment in the Brandenburg CDU – due to insufficient integration of the party base. The district association Potsdam-Mittelmark called for a member survey as with the SPD.

The unrest is nourished by poor survey values ​​for the Union. CDU and CSU have lost several percentage points since 28.5 percent of the federal election. The AfD is getting closer to the Union, and even concluded to her in a survey by Insa.

What’s next?

If an agreement with the Union on a coalition agreement, the SPD wants to have its members voted digitally within ten days. On the part of the CDU, a small party congress decides on the contract, at the CSU a board decision is sufficient.

As a suspected Federal Chancellor in SPE, Merz originally issued the goal of forming a government by Easter. This can no longer be achieved. As a possible date for Merz ‘choice and swearing into a chancellor, May 7th is now in the room.