Germany: the Greens want to form a coalition with the Social Democrats and the Liberals – archyde

A “traffic light” coalition could emerge across the Rhine, even if no agreement is tied immediately. The German Greens announced on Wednesday October 6 that they wanted to ally themselves with the Social Democrats of the SPD, who won in the legislative elections of September 26, and with the Liberal Democrats of the FDP.

“We have come to the conclusion that it is now logical to continue discussing with the SPD and the FDP, with a more in-depth search for a common ground”, explained during a press conference the co-president of the Greens, Annalena Baerbock. Environmentalists thus rule out a possible coalition with the Christian Democrats of the CDU-CSU, who came second in the elections. Third in the ballot, the Greens are in the position of chancellors.

“The country cannot afford a long standstill” pending the formation of a coalition, explained the environmental leader in particular, in reference to the months of talks that had paralyzed Germany and the European Union at the end of the previous poll in 2017. “We now suggest to the FDP to continue discussing with the SPD and the Greens” to form a coalition called ” traffic light “, said M^me Baerbock, adding: “Our interest is to get things done quickly. “

“Large conceivable intersections”

“Discussions in recent weeks have shown that the greatest intersections in terms of content are conceivable in this scheme (with the SPD and the FDP), especially in the area of ​​social policy”, for his part explained the other co-president of the Greens, Robert Habeck. “The biscuit is however far from being eaten”, he tempered, however.

“I just proposed to [Olaf Scholz, le candidat du SPD], in agreement with the Greens, to meet us tomorrow for a discussion between the three of us, and that will take place ”, announced in the wake of the president of the FDP, Christian Lindner, during a press conference. The FDP had already declared on Sunday that its first discussions with the SPD had been constructive.

The CDU-CSU, led by the unpopular Armin Laschet, has not given up on trying to form a so-called coalition “Jamaican” with Greens and Liberals. Its leaders met with the Liberals on Sunday, then the Greens on Tuesday, to try to convince them to build this team, the only one able to allow them to keep the chancellery after sixteen years of the Merkel era. Their exchanges with environmentalists leaked Tuesday evening in the press, which ulcerated them. “Trust also means that not everything is published in the newspapers” immediately, argued Wednesday M^me Baerbock.

In any case, a three-party coalition would be a first in Germany since 1950. “The voters were very clear”, Mr Scholz said when announcing his intention to form a majority with the Greens (14.8%) and the FDP (11.5%). Even before Mr. Scholz officially extended his hand to them, the leaders of these two formations had indicated that they were ready to discuss together.