Traffic light coalition committee meets again: detention after the night session

20 hours of coalition committee, one interruption and no result so far: The tough talks between the SPD, Greens and FDP have been going on again since the morning. The opposition accuses the chancellor of not leading.

First sit at night, then detention: Because the first 20 hours of the coalition committee remained without a presentable result, it was clear that the marathon would be extended today.

Olaf Scholz chose terms during the interruption that did not seem to fit the excruciatingly long first part of the meeting in the Chancellery: Scholz spoke of “pacing up”, the “new Germany speed”. And thus indicated that the content is about the big picture.

The Chancellor talks a lot about expansion: about the expansion of the power grids, the expansion of renewable energies, the expansion of the transport infrastructure. “The government’s common belief is that the legal rules that we have gradually screwed together over the past few decades do not match the speed that we need today.”

Leisurely traffic light pace

When it comes to speed, the opposition primarily thinks of the traffic light coalition – which just lacks that speed when it comes to making decisions.

The CDU politician Jens Spahn goes to the rbb24 info radio even going so far as to declare the government a “security risk” in times of crisis: “Actually, this traffic light coalition is done. It is standing ko, as Friedrich Merz said. The chancellor is not leading. And that in the middle of a crisis in which many people are finding their way And I see an overtired government more as a security risk.”

At the traffic light, a different interpretation is tried: we don’t let ourselves be rushed – so that Germany then starts the turbo. But the fact that each of the three parties is trying to raise its profile is difficult to gloss over – which makes compromises so complicated.

FDP versus Greens versus SPD

There is no doubt that climate protection is the overarching topic – and this is where different philosophies collide. Especially with the FDP and the Greens. But the SPD also wants to have a say: “But we also have to think about social and economic issues in everything. We can’t just give orders and then say: Let’s see how things go,” warns the deputy leader of the SPD parliamentary group, Matthias Miersch ARD ZDF morning magazine. And thus aimed at the Greens.

And so there are several questions where we didn’t just hitchhike, but got stuck: in the case of planning acceleration, for example – another term that suggests speed. The FDP also wanted the expansion of autobahns. Above all, the Greens wanted to promote rail.

Even if they have obviously come closer here – nothing was decided in the marathon meeting. In general, traffic: The Greens have an eye on this department, which is run by the FDP, when it comes to increased efforts to meet climate targets.

And then there is the issue of housing. From 2024, if possible, no more new oil and gas heating should be installed, according to the proposal from the Ministry of Economic Affairs: “If Robert Habeck proposes a blanket ban on oil and gas heating, then the FDP will say: We don’t have such a blanket ban to do”, underlined im ARD ZDF morning magazine FDP parliamentary group leader Konstantin Kuhle.

The chancellor between the chairs

The Greens want more climate protection, the Liberals not too much regulation. And the SPD chancellor? The opposition criticizes that once again you don’t really know where he stands. After the end of the marathon session, Olaf Scholz seemed to have decided to once again personify calmness. But he must have been aware of how serious the situation is. After all, his head of the chancellery, Wolfgang Schmidt, did not travel to the Netherlands to prepare possible compromises.

There were rumors yesterday that a detailed 18-page paper was in the works, although it had not yet been decided. Because Scholz should know very well: without an agreement, you rush into a coalition crisis at top speed. That’s certainly not what the chancellor originally imagined when he talked about speeding things up.