Traffic light alliance
Greens vote for coalition negotiations – only the FDP is still missing
The Greens chairmen Annalena Baerbock and Robert Habeck are pleased that their party’s yes to the start of coalition negotiations
© Michael Kappeler / DPA
After the SPD, the Greens, as expected, voted to start coalition negotiations for a traffic light alliance. There were only a few critical voices.
The Greens voted for coalition negotiations with the SPD and FDP. At a small party congress on Sunday in Berlin, the delegates voted with a large majority to start talks on the formation of a common government. Of the 70 delegates who were entitled to vote, according to party information, two voted no, there was one abstention.
The only thing left to do was the approval of the FDP leadership on Monday. The SPD board had already voted unanimously for coalition negotiations on Friday. First talks could start in a few days.
Previously, party leader Robert Habeck and other members of the Green exploratory team had sworn the delegates to future government participation. “We will be the drivers of major transformation tasks,” said Habeck, who asked for a mandate for a “progress government”. His party is about to become part of a federal government for the second time. “Indeed, we are currently writing a bit of green history.”
Habeck: “We want responsibility”
Habeck emphasized the Greens’ will to power after years in the opposition. The party must now prove that it is ready to take on government responsibility. “We come from the defensive to the design, to the offensive.” The Greens could now help shape it. “We want this responsibility,” emphasized Habeck. “We want to shape reality.”
The majority of the delegates at the party congress apparently saw it similarly. There was hardly any harsh criticism to be heard. Cansin Köktürk from Bochum noted that she had the impression that the FDP had won the election. “Where does this exploratory paper say the real eradication of poverty in this country?” She asked. Others emphasized the need for action in a future federal government in terms of climate protection and the fight against poverty.
Several delegates warned that important details still need to be clarified in the upcoming coalition negotiations. Hamburg delegate Anja Hajduk emphasized that it must be made clear where the money for necessary investments should come from. The Greens would have to make the FDP and SPD responsible in order to get “these 500 billion for a decade of investment” together. The Greens particularly want to invest in public infrastructure and climate protection.
The Kiel delegate Lasse Petersdotter praised the agreement on a minimum wage of 12 euros as a “revolution”, but also warned that climate protection projects would have to become more concrete and more ambitious in the coalition negotiations. The Greens would have to be careful “that the FDP does not draw borders while we are describing hopes”.
Greens leader Annalena Baerbock received applause in particular for the climate protection project set out in the exploratory paper. A tremendous amount has been achieved here to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees compared to pre-industrial times. When it comes to retirement, you can’t “muddle around” for the next few years. “We want to create a real departure, also for future generations.”
There was still a lot of work to be done in the coalition negotiations, said Baerbock, who announced that European foreign policy would play a major role in the negotiations. In the past, “an opportunity for human rights in this world” has been wasted. “It will always happen that we wrestle violently well into the night,” she predicted with a view to the coalition negotiations.
While exploratory negotiations serve as a non-binding exploration of similarities and differences, the partners in coalition talks already have a common government firmly in their sights. The Greens want their members to decide on the coalition agreement in a strike vote. The declared aim is to form a government before Christmas.
On Friday, the negotiators of a possible future traffic light coalition presented their exploratory results. The small party congress of the Greens took note of this “approvingly”. It lists issues on which the three parties were able to achieve a “pre-determination”. Some issues have already been cleared up. There should be no tax increases and the debt brake should be adhered to. The statutory minimum wage is to rise to 12 euros per hour. In the green core issue of climate protection, among other things, an accelerated expansion of renewable energies and an exit from coal, ideally by 2030, are planned.