Traffic light coalition negotiations: delivery is to take place today

The coalition working groups of the SPD, Greens and FDP have to submit their results by 6 p.m. Then the chief negotiators take over. The SPD sees itself on schedule, the Greens have doubts, the FDP says little.

The working groups met for the first time a good two weeks ago: around 300 experts in more than twenty working groups looking for a common line. Iron rule: nothing content should emerge from the talks between the SPD, the Greens and the FDP. That worked by and large.

Greens worry about climate protection

The Greens are still dissatisfied. The party misses concrete information on climate protection from its two future partners. The Greens parliamentary deputy, Oliver Krischer, co-heads the Climate and Energy working group. Apparently it crunches particularly loudly there.

“It cannot be that the Greens are now given an allotment garden and they say we are going to continue doing the same as the grand coalition did. The environment minister can do a little bit of climate protection, the energy minister, the economy minister, the transport minister, the agriculture minister do the exact opposite. It won’t work. ” Climate protection must be a joint project of this coalition.

“Subsidies for climate-damaging company cars must go”

There are also controversial points between the future traffic light coalitioners on the subject of traffic, according to Greens and SPD circles ARDCapital studio. For example, how the climate plans of a future government are to be financed. That would not be possible without canceling the billions in subsidies.

But the FDP seems to be blocking in many areas. Keyword: tax breaks for company cars. The Green Transport Minister Winfried Hermann from Baden-Württemberg does not negotiate, but he does not consider the company car privilege to be acceptable in a future government. “I am of the opinion that company cars that are harmful to the climate cannot be further privileged.”

Greens: the timetable is not set in stone

If no agreement can be found on specific points, negotiations will have to take longer if necessary, say more and more Greens. Party leader Annalena Baerbock does not rule this out either.

In order for a joint government with the SPD and FDP to come about, the goals of the Paris climate protection agreement are apparently non-negotiable for the Greens. Otherwise its members will hardly approve the future coalition agreement at their party congress at the beginning of December.

The SPD and FDP are keeping a low profile

And what do the other two parties say? They keep a low profile. The liberals were able to prevail with their points such as a clear no to the tax increase in the triple constellation. At least that is how the exploratory paper reads.

As for the schedule, the FDP politician Marco Buschmann is relaxed. “If it then takes longer, it takes longer. Personally, I don’t think that’s a big deal either.” At the moment, however, he does not have the impression that things are not going well. “Negotiations tend to be tough on the matter, but very result-oriented and very professional.”

SPD: Nikolauswoche is the election of the chancellor

That is exactly how the SPD sees it. Clearly it jerks and rumble when three parties negotiate with different opinions, says Saskia Esken, party leader of the SPD. “But it will definitely stick to our schedule that we can elect Olaf Scholz as our Federal Chancellor during St. Nicholas Week. And the preparatory work must be done by then.”

A clear announcement from the strongest party in the three-party coalition. The working groups, especially on the green side, should still wrestle properly by the evening.