The traffic light coalition still has one year of government ahead of it. And once again a break in the coalition seems possible. Is a second 1982 looming?
Berlin – An early end to the traffic light coalition seems to be a real option for Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP). Rheinische Post Lindner drew a comparison to the situation in 1982, when the Free Democrats left the coalition under SPD Chancellor Helmut Schmidt. “Sometimes courage means staying in a coalition despite controversy, because stability is important and good things can still be achieved,” said Lindner. “But sometimes courage also means taking risks to create new political dynamics.”
The coalition under Schmidt broke up mainly over difficult economic and foreign policy issues. The then finance minister Otto Graf Lambsdorf (FDP) proposed austerity measures in the discussion about the 1983 federal budget to combat the prevailing economic crisis. The measures in the so-called “Wende paper” contained many demands that were far removed from the SPD, such as cuts to social benefits. This was probably the first step that led to the break-up of the coalition at the time – and it bears a striking resemblance to the situation in the current federal government under Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD).
Lindner speaks of “autumn of decisions” – FDP finance minister defines coalition goals
The traffic light coalition also faces a crisis caused by the corona pandemic and Ukraine War What makes the situation all the more difficult is the fact that within the traffic light coalition there are “two fundamental economic models that are not compatible”, Markus Steilmann, President of the Chemical Industry Association, told ZDF todayLindner also seems to be taking up these differences and speaks of an “autumn of decisions” with regard to the economic challenges.
The Finance Minister sees fundamental goals against which the citizens of Germany would judge the work of the government. Rheinische Post The FDP leader asked: “Are we implementing the growth initiative ambitiously so that we can achieve an economic turnaround? Are we agreeing on a federal budget that strengthens education, investment and security, but at the same time lowers the tax burden for citizens and complies with the debt brake? Are we achieving more control and consistency in migration policy and are we overcoming taboos in thinking to do so?”
FDP blocks collective bargaining law traffic light law – Esken speaks of “false business friendliness”
The recent dispute over the collective bargaining law also shows how divided the traffic light parties are. In the coalition agreement, the government had actually agreed to strengthen collective bargaining and wanted to make “collective bargaining a condition for tenders,” according to the coalition paper. But Lindner now seems to want to torpedo this agreement and is insisting on reducing the bureaucratic burden on companies.
Headwinds are coming from the coalition partner SPD. “The collective bargaining agreement law is coming. Wanting to stop it out of a misguided desire to be business-friendly is not very smart of the FDP,” said SPD leader Saskia Esken to the Editorial Network Germany (RND)She demands that contracts awarded by the state be remunerated with good wages. “Especially where the federal government awards contracts, there must be equal competitive conditions for all providers – and wage dumping should not give anyone an advantage there,” said Esken. (nhi)
#Autumn #decisions #Lindner #plays #traffic #light #break