First modification:
Almost all the delegates of the German Social Democratic Party decided to support the agreement with the Greens and the Liberals. The other two parties of the alliance known as “semaphore” have yet to approve the pact.
In Germany, delegates from the Social Democratic Party, SPD, approved the coalition pact which, if approved also by the other two parties of the bloc, would allow Olaf Scholz to become chancellor and replace Angela Merkel.
The approval was given with a large majority, 98.8% voted for the coalition with the Greens and the liberals of the FDP, who in turn need the approval of their respective parties for the agreement to take effect.
The vote had 598 supporters, seven votes against and three abstentions.
The so-called “traffic light” alliance, named after the respective colors of its constituent parties, would usher in a new era of relations with Europe and promises to accelerate the digitization of the continent’s largest economy.
Some delegates with a more socialist vision criticized the pact and demanded more social measures regarding housing and to give less concessions to the liberals, but in any case they saw the pact as an “opportunity”.
The SPD is the first of the three formations to approve the coalition. The Liberals are scheduled to vote on Sunday, December 5, and the Greens will make the decision on Monday. The pact would be signed on December 7, as stipulated. All three parties hope that the lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, will vote for Scholz as chancellor on Wednesday.
Olaf Scholz’s speech at the congress of the Social Democratic Party
At the extraordinary congress of the Social Democratic Party, Olaf Scholz said that “progress” defines the three parties (SFP, FDP and Greens). “We distinguish ourselves from others in the opposition bench because we have a vision,” said the leader.
For him, the new coalition will allow Germany and his party a resurgence and mark a turning point, he also said that “partners do not look nostalgically at the past and share the idea of the future as something that” can be achieved.
In his speech, he reminded his supporters that the measures of the agreement include raising the minimum hourly wage to 12 euros and the Executive’s commitment to make an energy transition to mitigate global warming.
Among its challenges is fighting the pandemic, at a time when the country is facing a significant increase in cases and the Omicron variant of Covid-19 is spreading across Europe and the rest of the continents.
Scholz took the opportunity to say that he would run for re-election in 2025, since for him there are many long-term issues that he must face, such as the climate or the development of the country’s infrastructure.
The also former finance minister, who was in Merkel’s government as a junior partner, referred to the lack of social development in recent years and did not hesitate to blame the conservatives for this.
With Reuters and EFE
.