Vote on coalition negotiations: Now only the FDP is missing

Status: October 18, 2021 8:48 a.m.

After the SPD and the Greens, the only thing missing today is the approval of the FDP – then the three parties can start their coalition negotiations shortly. It is already becoming apparent that this will not happen without fighting over the posts.

Three weeks after the federal election, coalition negotiations between the SPD, the Greens and the FDP could start in the coming days. As the last of the three parties, today’s FDP wants to decide whether to start talks. The SPD executive committee and a small party congress of the Greens have already given their approval.

Party leader Christian Lindner firmly expects a positive vote from his party – and also the formation of a first traffic light coalition at the federal level. “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 opportunity is greater than seldom in recent years.

Christian Lindner, FDP party chairman, with assessments of a possible traffic light coalition

Report from Berlin 6:05 p.m., October 17, 2021

The FDP foreign politician Alexander Graf Lambsdorff also assumes that his party will vote in favor. The exploratory paper is “a document of departure in which many liberal elements can be found,” said Lambsdorff in the joint Morning magazine from ARD and ZDF. He is happy that the Social Democrats and Greens have already voted for coalition negotiations. FDP General Secretary Volker Wissing said in the NDR“Failure is” not an option “for the party, even if many questions still need to be clarified.

Debate about the Treasury

But despite all the harmony in the run-up, the first cracks between the FDP and the Greens appeared on the weekend when the question of who should lead the Federal Ministry of Finance in the future – without question the key ministry in the implementation of central election promises. The previous finance minister, Olaf Scholz of the SPD, will move to the Chancellery if the coalition talks are successful, which arouses desires among the smaller partners. During the election campaign, Lindner made no secret of wanting to become finance minister. Several FDP politicians such as Wolfgang Kubicki or Marco Buschmann spoke out in favor of him at the weekend.

But Greens boss Robert Habeck also affirmed Report from Berlin his party’s claim to the finance ministry, he was supported by Green politicians such as Sven Giegold or finance minister Danyal Bayanz from Baden-Württemberg. “The competition is there, without question,” said Habeck. “The Treasury Department is important.” But it is not helpful if you get into speculation about personnel now.

Lindner also said im Report from Berlin, he advises against staff discussions. Personnel issues would be dealt with in the coalition negotiations “when appropriate”. At the same time, however, he made it clear: “There is the Federal Chancellery, there is the Ministry of Finance, there is a new climate ministry and I am of the opinion that each of the partners must have the opportunity to have a creative impact.”

FDP board member Lambsdorff, “Confident about the approval of the FDP to start coalition negotiations”

daily news 9:00 a.m., October 18, 2021

Is there a climate ministry coming?

With this, Lindner expressed the expectation that a ministry could be created in the new government that would take a leading role in climate protection. But that was not an existing appointment, he emphasized later that evening on ZDF. SPD General Secretary Lars Klingbeil also emphasized in the joint Morning magazine from ARD and ZDF, a decision on such a ministry has not yet been made.

No tax increases, no loosening of the debt brake

On Friday the negotiators of the parties ended their explorations and presented a result paper. Thereafter, there should be no tax increases and the debt brake should be adhered to. The statutory minimum wage is to rise to twelve euros per hour. In terms of climate protection, accelerated expansion of renewable energies and an exit from coal are planned, ideally by 2030, among other things.

Scholz and Lindner rejected the accusation that the potential government partners had not clarified the financial viability of their projects. It is about a great departure, the modernization of the country, said Scholz on ZDF. A significant part of this is about enabling private sector investments. But it is also clear that “additional funds with public investments” must be made available. “So it’s about combining things correctly,” emphasized Scholz.

Linder specified on ZDF: “We also want to activate private capital by using our public development bank to secure private investments publicly. You don’t need a euro higher debt, not a euro higher taxes, it is just entrepreneurial activity of the state to make things possible. ”

In addition to private investments, Klingbeil sees two other sources of funding for the traffic light plans: money from public budgets and the new global minimum tax. This will be available in the next few years “almost six billion euros” in addition, he said in Morning magazine.

The way to the traffic light – discussions about the Ministry of Finance

Philipp Eckstein, ARD Berlin, October 18, 2021 6:03 am

source site