Status: October 17, 2021 7:15 p.m.
Now only the FDP has to decide on the start of the traffic light coalition negotiations. For party leader Lindner this seems to be a formality. in the Report from Berlin he emphasizes the red-green-yellow modernization projects.
FDP chairman Christian Lindner expects a positive decision by the FDP party committees to start coalition negotiations with the SPD and the Greens.
“I assume that there will be great approval,” said Lindner in the Report from Berlin. There is an opportunity to modernize society, the economy and the state. With a traffic light coalition, this chance is greater than seldom in recent years, according to the FDP leader. As the last of the three parties, the FDP leadership wants to officially decide on Monday to start negotiations on a traffic light alliance.
On Friday, the negotiators from the SPD, Greens and FDP presented their exploratory results and presented a joint paper with their plans. All three parties then wanted to officially decide in various bodies on the commencement of coalition negotiations. The SPD had already voted unanimously to start negotiations on Friday. On Sunday, the majority of the delegates at a small party congress of the Greens also voted for coalition negotiations.
Christian Lindner, FDP party chairman, with assessments of a possible traffic light coalition
Report from Berlin 6:05 p.m., October 17, 2021
FDP shares in the exploratory paper?
Regarding the results of the explorations, Lindner said he wanted to emphasize “the common whole” and “not to measure who can achieve which success where”. A purely party-political consideration of the joint projects already outlined makes further work more difficult. Together with the SPD and the Greens, they want to achieve a “transformation”, a “socio-ecological market economy”.
Lindner rejected criticism of the lack of funding in the exploratory paper. For example, one could reduce the “over-subsidization” of electric cars. High earners do not need this. According to Lindner, two “guard rails” of financing are already clearly regulated: firstly, taxes would not be increased and secondly, the debt brake would be adhered to. In addition, private capital should increasingly be activated with the help of state development banks in the future.
No comment on finance ministerial posts
After Lindner’s party colleagues had campaigned aggressively for him as future finance minister on Saturday, the FDP leader stepped in Report from Berlin on the brakes. “I advise against such personal discussions.” For the FDP, it’s not about careers and posts. “Only one thing is important to me: each of the three partners must be able to exert an influence,” says Lindner. Personnel issues would then be settled when it was appropriate. Lindner left it open whether this would only be at the end of coalition negotiations. You have to go step by step.
In addition to Lindner, Greens co-boss Robert Habeck is said to have ambitions for the post of finance minister. Habeck said about this in the Report from Berlinthat Christian Lindner never made a secret of the fact that the FDP wants the Ministry of Finance and that Lindner himself feels called to do so. Entering into personnel discussions now is not helpful, however. “You increase your own height of fall,” said Habeck in the direction of the FDP.