German coalition parties sign agreement to end Angela Merkel’s 16-year grip on power

German parties have agreed on a coalition agreement that will see the end of Angela Merkel’s 16 years as chancellor and a new government formed before December.

Key points:

• Three coalition parties have signed an agreement to form a new German government to bring down a curtain on the Angela Merkel era
• The “traffic light” coalition is expected to form a government in December, more than two months after the parliamentary elections
• The agreement must be ratified by members of all three parties before the government can be formed

The leaders of the center-left Social Democrats, environmentalists Green and pro-business Free Democrats presented a 177-page document which took about 300 negotiators two months to nerd out.

The agreement marks a departure from Mrs Merkel’s conservative-led coalition government’s agenda with a push towards renewable energy, new targets for rolling out electric cars and a plan to phase out coal by 2030, which is eight years ahead of the previous target.

It will be the first federal alliance between the three parties and is known as a traffic light coalition because of the colors of the three parties – red for the Social Democrats (SPD), yellow for the Free Democrats (FDP) and green for the Greens.

At a press conference in Berlin on Wednesday, SPD leader Olaf Scholz – the man expected to become the next chancellor – spoke about the first traffic light in Germany, which was erected on a street in Berlin in 1924.

“At the time, it was still an unusual technology – ‘Can it work?’ people asked skeptically, “he said, flanked by the leaders of the FDP and the Greens.

“Today, the traffic light is indispensable when it comes to regulating things clearly and giving the right orientation and ensuring that everyone arrives safely and smoothly.

“My ambition as Chancellor is that this traffic light alliance will play a similarly pioneering role for German.”

The agreement still needs to be ratified by members of each party before the government can be properly formed, but all three hope to have it achieved by the beginning of next month.

Angela Merkel: ‘Empress of Europe’

It is the end of an era in which the woman, who was called the ‘Iron Chancellor’ by her critics and the ‘Mama’ by her fans, is preparing to retire after 16 tumultuous years in power.

Read more

The incoming government will have to face several pressing problems, with the ongoing migrant crisis on the EU border with Belarus and Germany’s deteriorating COVID-19 situation at the top of the list.

While Germany’s election campaign was largely focused on domestic issues, the coalition agreement shed light on the next government’s foreign policy priorities.

The parties agreed to strengthen the EU’s economic and monetary union and signaled an openness to reform the bloc’s fiscal policy rules, also known as the Stability and Growth Pact.

They also agreed that Germany would remain part of NATO’s nuclear deal, a move that would prevent a break with the Western military alliance at a time of rising tensions with Russia.

First female foreign minister is expected

The Greens’ co-leader Annalena Baerbock, 40, is expected to become the country’s first female foreign minister.

While the parties have not yet published the line-up, Mr Scholz has already said he wants gender equality.

FDP leader Christian Lindner, 42, is set to take over at the Ministry of Finance, and the Greens’ co-leader Robert Habeck, 52, is generally expected to take on a recently expanded Ministry of Economy and Climate.

The forthcoming coalition will have to balance the Greens’ demands for a tougher line with Russia and China on human rights with Mr Scholz’s likely preference in order not to risk a confrontation with the two countries on issues such as Taiwan and Ukraine.

The leader of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), Olaf Scholz, is the top candidate to replace Angela Merkel as chancellor.(Reuters: Hannibal Hanschke)

To underscore its socially liberal stance, the coalition agreed to allow multiple citizenships and legalize the sale of cannabis for recreational use in licensed stores.

As chair of what could be her last cabinet meeting, Mrs Merkel said goodbye to her colleagues earlier in the day, and Mr Scholz handed the EU’s longest-serving leader a tree to plant in his garden.

As finance minister and vice-chancellor of the outgoing “grand coalition” of the SPD and conservatives, Mr Scholz, 63, was seen as a competent rather than a charismatic politician who, like Mrs Merkel, has moderate views and is capable of dialogue.

He must now build and maintain a consensus between the Greens and the SPD, who are largely seen as natural center-left partners, and the fiscally high-minded FDP, which has historically been closer to Germany’s conservatives.

ABC / Reuters

.