Talks between the FDP and the Greens: “We want to organize a departure”

For the second time, representatives of the Greens and the FDP met to discuss the formation of a government. The party leaders were then confident that they were aware of the shared responsibility.

Five days after the federal election, top representatives from the Greens and the FDP have again discussed whether to participate in the new federal government. In addition, FDP leader Christian Lindner, the Greens chairmen Annalena Baerbock and Robert Habeck and other politicians came together for preliminary auditions.

After the meeting, Habeck said that a culture of discussion had been built up that enabled factual discussion. The Greens and FDP are aware of their responsibility in this historically special situation. However, one has to see that “both parties stand for change, but not necessarily for the same changes”.

Lindner said the process towards a possible joint government had “started in a good atmosphere” but was not yet over. “We feel we are jointly tasked with organizing a new departure in Germany,” said the FDP leader. He spoke of a “great shared responsibility”. Nevertheless, there are “undoubtedly differences” between the parties, for example in the areas of climate protection and finances.

Talks with the SPD and Union from Sunday

The negotiating teams from the Greens and the FDP initially met separately in an office building next to the Berlin Zoo. According to both delegations, they then met for joint discussions. It was already the second round of preliminary investigations. The party leaders initiated the talks on Tuesday and posted a selfie on Instagram.

From Sunday on, the SPD as the strongest force and the Union will enter into talks with the smaller parties. Both are striving for an alliance with the Greens and the FDP – either a traffic light coalition led by the SPD or a Jamaica alliance led by the Union. With 25.7 percent, the SPD emerged as the strongest party in the federal election. The Union, on the other hand, fell to its all-time low of 24.1 percent.

Traffic light coalition more popular in poll

in the ARD Germany trend 51 percent of those surveyed stated that a traffic light alliance made up of the SPD, the Greens and the FDP would most likely stand for a fresh start. Only 18 percent think so of a Jamaica coalition under Union leadership. For 24 percent, neither of the two coalition options are for a fresh start.

The majority of the supporters of the Union parties and the SPD trust a coalition led by their own party to make a fresh start. The supporters of the Greens are clearly positioning themselves for a traffic light coalition. But the voters of the FDP also expect a new beginning from the traffic lights rather than from Jamaica.

Scholz: There are “large overlaps”

SPD chancellor candidate Olaf Scholz was confident that an alliance with the Greens and the FDP would come about. “I am optimistic that a traffic light coalition can succeed,” he told the “Spiegel”. He thinks it is “correct” that the Greens and the FDP speak to one another first. That is a consequence of the Jamaica experience. In 2017, negotiations on a Jamaica coalition of the Union, FDP and Greens fell through. The FDP broke off the talks. Scholz said that at the time the negotiations gave the impression that it was all about the Union and the Greens. Now the parties should talk on an equal footing: “Real affection arises when you get seriously involved with each other.”

According to Scholz, trust is central. “Because later we will have to solve a lot of tasks that were not even foreseeable during the coalition negotiations.” For the negotiations he had concrete ideas “how that could fit,” said Scholz. However, the discussions should not be conducted through the media. There are “large overlaps” – Scholz cited a first-class cellular network, a larger and more modern electricity network and the expansion of wind power and solar energy as examples.