Statement from the top of the parliamentary group: Greens continue to use traffic lights

The Greens want to conclude the upcoming exploratory talks as quickly as possible. One speaks “with everyone”, but there is most agreement with the SPD – and with the FDP, too, one has “a number of things in common”.

After the constituent meeting of the Bundestag parliamentary group, the two Green parliamentary group leaders Katrin Göring-Eckardt and Anton Hofreiter were provisionally confirmed in their office. With a view to the upcoming exploratory talks, Hofreiter said that the next federal government would have to tackle the problems, with the issue of climate protection being particularly important. He stressed that the talks should take place “on an equal footing”. It is not enough “to agree on the lowest common denominator”.

Göring-Eckardt said the parliamentary group had decided to embark on the course of explorations and coalition talks. It is crucial that the talks “are not anticipated coalition negotiations”. She was referring to the failed Jamaica negotiations four years ago.

“That it won’t drag on forever”

It is essential that you trust each other and can rely on each other. And that the soundings were now carried out quickly. Everyone involved wanted “that this doesn’t drag on forever,” she said.

On possible talks with the Union, Goering-Eckardt said: “We are talking to everyone.” Nevertheless, there is “most of the agreement with the SPD”. There is still no appointment with the Union for next week, she said. That has to do with the fact that “first of all order must be taken care of” within the Union. Hofreiter added: “It is not our job to take care of the balance of power in the Union.”

Hofreiter said that there were no personnel issues at the moment, that it was all about content. There are “a number of similarities” with the FDP, for example digitization, education and civil rights.

First meeting with FDP on Tuesday

The chairmen of the Greens, Annalena Baerbock and Robert Habeck, had a first meeting with FDP party leader Christian Lindner and Secretary General Wissing on Tuesday and then made this public via Instagram selfie.

“FDP has learned a lot”

Previously, Vice-President of the Greens, Oliver Krischer, had struck conciliatory tones in the direction of the FDP. In the newspaper “Welt” the traffic expert pointed out that the FDP also wanted more climate protection in traffic. “If someone suggests more sensible measures than ours, the Greens will be the last to refuse,” said Krischer.

The former Green parliamentary group leader and Federal Environment Minister Jürgen Trittin also approached the Liberals. “The FDP has learned a lot,” Trittin told the partner newspapers of the Neue Berliner Redaktionsgesellschaft. “Secondly, I believe that the FDP actually wants to take the step into government. In this respect, we talk to each other on a different basis,” said Trittin. The former Green leader Claudia Roth said in the ARDbroadcast Maischberger: “You don’t have to love each other, but you have to treat each other with respect.” FDP board member Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann made a similar statement. It’s about building trust.

However, the Green Youth warns against too much trust in the market – and the liberals. “Unfortunately, so far the fresh image of the FDP has only been based on the old story of the miraculous forces of the market,” said the federal spokesman for the Green Youth, Georg Kurz, of the dpa news agency. “Leaving the climate crisis to the profit logics and growth pressures that led us into this crisis is not an option,” emphasized Kurz.

Difficult appointment finding with the Union

On Friday the Greens and FDP want to meet again – this time in a larger group. Separate talks between both parties with the SPD are scheduled for Sunday.

A meeting between the Union and the FDP was originally planned for Saturday – but according to the FDP, there were apparently scheduling problems at the Union. On Thursday morning it became known from union circles that the union leaders wanted to discuss with representatives of the FDP about chances for a possible joint government with the Greens on Sunday evening. Accordingly, the party leaders of the CDU, CSU and FDP, Armin Laschet, Markus Söder and Christian Lindner, decided on Wednesday evening that they wanted to meet on Sunday evening at 6.30 p.m. The participants in the delegations should be determined during the course of Thursday. Talks with the Greens have also been arranged. These are planned for the beginning of the coming week.

While a black-green-yellow alliance is favored by many leading FDP members, many Greens prefer a coalition led by the SPD.

Doubts about the ability of the Union to govern

The talks with the Greens are apparently supposed to take place, although the Greens parliamentary group leader Göring-Eckardt had harshly criticized the behavior of the Union after the federal election. “I don’t see at the moment that the Union could be considered fit for exploration, let alone fit for government,” she told the newspapers of the Funke media group. She is always of the opinion that no option should be ruled out among the democratic parties. But when looking at the state of the CDU, she currently does not see how a coalition with the CDU and CSU should go. “The whole place is obviously not prepared for the time after Merkel.”

The SPD chairman Norbert Walter-Borjans again campaigned for a red-green-yellow coalition and spoke out in favor of swift talks with the Greens and the FDP. “We as the SPD do not want to rush anything, but also do not want to lose unnecessary time,” he told the “Augsburger Allgemeine”. “The fact that the potential partners want to exchange ideas with one another must be respected,” he added, referring to the preliminary discussions between the Greens and the FDP. It is clear, however, that the task of forming a government lies with the SPD.

The SPD co-chairman called on the Union Chancellor candidate Armin Laschet to recognize the result of the Bundestag election as the Union’s defeat. “The fact that Armin Laschet has not been able to recognize the total rejection of the voters to this day, but instead doggedly haggled over every millimeter of power, is a shameful indictment for him and the CDU and CSU parties that support him,” said Walter-Borjans .