In fact, the German government should adopt the national budget for the coming year in a few days. But a major dispute over the country’s economic policies could ultimately pull the plug on the traffic light coalition. Finance Minister Christian Lindner has completely escalated the situation with his policy document, in which he partly distances himself from the current course of his government partners. Now Chancellor Olaf Scholz is trying to save what can be saved. One crisis conversation follows another.
On Sunday evening, Scholz first consulted with the SPD leaders in the chancellery and then with Lindner for two and a half hours. From Monday, several three-way meetings are planned between Chancellor Scholz (SPD), Vice Chancellor and Minister of Economic Affairs Robert Habeck (Greens) and Finance Minister Lindner (FDP). The party committees will also meet on Monday. The FDP faction is holding another meeting with several business associations. On Wednesday, the leaders of the government parties, factions and the traffic light coalition will meet in a coalition committee. Then we also talk about the effects of the American elections on Germany and German politics.
Lindner: “There is no intention to leave the government”
The main bottlenecks in the coming days and weeks are the adoption of the 2025 budget with an existing financing gap of several billion euros, a pension package and the government’s 49-point growth package. SPD leader Lars Klingbeil spoke of a “week of decisions”. There has been speculation for days that the FDP could leave the traffic light government, which is deeply unpopular in the polls, because it hopes this will give it a better chance of getting back into the Bundestag after the federal elections. But there was no “intention” to leave the “traffic light,” Lindner said a few days ago.
SPD Secretary General: “Everyone must join forces”
SPD Secretary General Matthias Miersch was optimistic on Monday that the SPD, the Greens and the FDP can agree on a common concept to stimulate the economy. His appeal was: “Everyone must put their shoulders to the wheel. Running away is not an option. We have a responsibility, a damn responsibility in these difficult times.” Lindner himself has raised the bar even higher and underlined his call for a change in economic policy. “No one can accept that Germany is lagging behind economically,” he wrote on the short-message platform X.
The Union, on the other hand, called for early elections because the “traffic light” could no longer agree on a clear policy. The chairman of the automotive association VDA, Hildegard Müller, said on ARD on Monday: “If you do not find the strength to act, you must draw the consequences.”
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
