BERLIN: Germany’s incoming coalition cleared a new hurdle on Sunday with the Free Democrats (FDP) approving an alliance with the centre-left SPD and ecologist Greens to replace Angela Merkel’s government.
The greenlight from 92.2 per cent of around 660 FDP delegates came a day after the SPD waved through the deal during their own congress. The Greens are expected to publish the results of their membership vote on Monday.
With the agreement expected to sail through too on Monday, parliament is getting ready to formally elect the SPD’s Olaf Scholz as chancellor on Wednesday.
Urging his FDP to back the deal, party leader Christian Lindner said the coalition agreement would bring about a “new departure in Germany”. “Germany is waiting for this new departure,” stressed Lindner, who is poised to become finance minister.
Under their roadmap for Germany, the three parties want to bring forward an end to coal to 2030 from 2038. They also plan to put 15 million electric cars on the road by 2030, and ramp up the building of new homes to keep housing costs affordable.
At the same time, they are aiming to return to the country’s no new debt rule by 2023, after the sacrosanct policy was lifted to allow the government to borrow billions to finance its way out of the coronavirus pandemic.
MERKEL TO HANDOVER: She was called “the leader of the free world” against authoritarian populists on the march in Europe and the United States, but Angela Merkel is wrapping up a historic 16 years in power with a mixed legacy at home and abroad.
In office so long she was dubbed Germany’s “eternal chancellor”, Merkel, 67, leaves with her popularity so resilient she would likely have won a record fifth term had she sought it.
Instead, Merkel will pass the baton as the first German chancellor to step down entirely by choice, with a whole generation of voters never knowing another person at the top.
Her supporters say she provided steady leadership through countless global crises as a moderate and unifying figure.
Yet critics argue a muddle-through style pegged to the broadest possible consensus lacked the bold vision to prepare Europe and its top economy for the coming decades.
What is certain is that she leaves behind a fractured political landscape, with her own CDU party divided as it struggles to emerge from her long shadow.
Social Democrat Olaf Scholz, who served as her vice chancellor and finance minister, successfully sold himself as the Merkel continuity candidate in the run-up to September’s general election and will now succeed her.
With Scholz due to be officially elected by parliament as chancellor on Wednesday, Merkel will fall just days short of beating Helmut Kohl’s record as Germany’s longest-serving post-war leader. – AFP
