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This Sunday, the Green party voted in favor of starting formal negotiations with the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the Liberal Party (FDP) to form a government coalition in Germany, with only 2 votes against and one abstention. However, the alliance will not be finalized until the FDP votes in favor, something that is expected to be done on Monday. Should that happen, it would be the second time the Greens have held government office.
This Sunday, October 17 in Germany, the Green party voted in favor of starting formal negotiations with the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the Liberal Party (FDP) to form a government coalition in Germany. It happened at a Green Party conference in Berlin, where only two of the 99 delegates voted against while one abstained.
Robert Habeck, co-leader of the Greens, spoke about it. “We have had to make concessions but the others have as well. Now we have the opportunity to enter the government and make proposals not only for party congresses,” he said. Even so, he assured that it is “a good compromise that allows us to carry out an important part of the programmatic proposals of Los Verdes, especially in relation to the fight against the climate crisis.”
In addition, he mentioned that this union could mean “a great victory for The Greens” and “for Germany.” He also said that “in the next government, the Greens can assume more responsibility for our country than ever.” And added that “we will be drivers of great transformations. ”
On the other hand, several delegates stressed that one of the challenges of the negotiations will be to establish concrete measures for the financing of investments. And Claudia Roth, the former president of the environmental party, said that the previous conversations between the three possible partners were “marked by respect in these times of hate speech”, and that “it has been a political statement.”
But for the alliance of “traffic lights” (in the colors of the parties) to be formalized, the Free Democratic Party (FDP) will have to vote in favor. Something that they are expected to do this Monday. It would be a great first for German politics as there has never been a tripartite government in this nation.
And although the groups have agreed to define the content aspects first, there are some novelties about the distribution of portfolios.
The chancellor of this new government would be Olaf Scholz, from the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD). This, because his party got the majority of the votes in the September 26 elections.
As for the Finance portfolio, it is not known whether it will be filled by the president of the FDP, Christina Linder, or the co-president of the Greens, Robert Habeck. On the other hand, the main candidate for the Foreign Ministry is Annalena Baerbock, also co-president of Los Verdes.
On Friday, Scholz confessed that both he and the leaders of the Greens and the FDP aimed to finalize the alliance before the end of the year.
This would be the second time that the Greens are part of a German government. The first was between 1998 and 2005, under a center-left coalition with another party. In addition, it is the first time in 16 years that the CDU, a party led by Angela Merkel, is not going to govern. It is a historic defeat for them.
A greener economy
Part of a preliminary agreement between the three parties is for Germany to accelerate its abandonment of coal-based energy. The Greens want this to happen by 2030 and not by 2038, as planned. In addition, they consider expanding renewable energy in the country.
On the other hand, as an express request of the FDP, they will not increase the taxes. And they are committed to intensifying and facilitating investment to combat climate change and promote digitization.
With EFE, Reuters and local media
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