Merkel's conservatives, SPD set out policy lines for German coalition

[webfact]

Merkel's conservatives, SPD set out policy lines for German coalition

 

Leader of the Social Democrats (SPD) Martin Schulz leaves after talks with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Berlin, Germany, November 23, 2017. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke

 

REUTERS - Momentum in Germany is building for a new 'grand coalition' between Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative bloc and the Social Democrats (SPD) to end the political instability created by the collapse of her coalition talks with other parties.

 

The conservatives and SPD have ruled together for the last four years and most ministers are keeping their posts in an interim government until a new coalition or minority government is formed.

 

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier hosts a first meeting of Merkel, the head of Bavaria's CSU conservatives, Horst Seehofer, and SPD leader Martin Schulz on Thursday.

 

Here are some of the overlaps and differences in policy areas likely to be discussed in any coalition talks.

 

FINANCES

 

Merkel has stressed she wants to maintain Germany's solid finances. Germany has run a budget surplus since 2014 under the stewardship of her hardline conservative finance minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble.

 

She has also said she wants some tax cuts, mainly for low and medium earners.

 

The SPD is far more focused on boosting spending and has in the last few days said it wants to increase investment in education and homes as well as on infrastructure.

 

The SPD wants to increase inheritance tax, some in the party want to insist on raising the minimum wage and it fought the election on a pledge of keeping pensions stable.

 

The conservatives and SPD both want to increase spending to expand broadband.

 

MIGRATION/SECURITY

 

An area of possible conflict.

 

Since the election, Merkel has bowed to pressure from her Bavarian allies to put a cap on the number of people Germany will accept on humanitarian grounds. Merkel repeated on Saturday that she wanted to limit the number to about 200,000 a year.

 

The SPD opposes this, arguing it breaches the constitution's guarantee of asylum to people who are persecuted for political reasons. Some leading party members have said they will not agree to a cap.

 

EUROPE

 

The SPD is more positive than Merkel's cautious stance towards French President Emmanuel Macron's proposals for a euro zone budget and a euro zone finance minister.

 

The SPD also backs the idea of turning the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) bailout fund into a European Monetary Fund along the lines of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

 

There is little difference on approach to Brexit talks.

 

FOREIGN POLICY

 

Broad agreement on most areas of foreign policy, including with the United States and Turkey. The SPD puts greater emphasis on mending ties with Russia which have been hurt by the conflict in Ukraine, but this is more a matter of nuance than a deep policy rift.

 

Also agreement on armed forces missions abroad although the SPD is more sceptical on NATO demands to move towards increasing defence spending to 2 percent of gross domestic product by 2014.

 

SOCIAL JUSTICE

 

The SPD fought its election on the platform of social justice and wants to improve the lot of the less affluent.

 

A long-standing commitment which several senior SPD members have repeated recently is the idea of making health insurance fairer for everyone by introducing a 'citizen's insurance'.

 

The SPD also wants to ensure men and women have equal pay and working conditions.

 

(Reporting by Madeline Chambers; Editing by Keith Weir)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-11-27

[webfact]

Merkel's CDU agrees to pursue grand coalition in Germany

By Andreas Rinke and Madeline Chambers

 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel holds a news conference after a Eastern Partnership summit at the European Council Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, November 24, 2017. REUTERS/Eric Vidal

 

BERLIN (Reuters) - Leaders of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative party agreed on Sunday to pursue a "grand coalition" with the Social Democrats (SPD) to break the political deadlock in Europe's biggest economy.

 

Merkel, whose fourth term was plunged into doubt a week ago when three-way coalition talks with the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) and Greens collapsed, was handed a political lifeline by the SPD on Friday.

 

Under intense pressure to preserve stability and avoid new elections, the SPD reversed its position and agreed to talk to Merkel, raising the prospect of a new grand coalition, which has ruled for the past four years, or a minority government.

 

"We have the firm intention of having an effective government," Daniel Guenther, conservative premier of the state of Schleswig Holstein, told reporters after a four-hour meeting of leading members of Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU).

 

"We firmly believe that this is not a minority government but that it is an alliance with a parliamentary majority. That is a grand coalition," he said.

 

The meeting came after the conservative state premier of Bavaria threw his weight behind a new right-left tie-up.

 

"An alliance of the conservatives and SPD is the best option for Germany - better anyway than a coalition with the Free Democrats and Greens, new elections or a minority government," Horst Seehofer, head of the Bavarian CSU, told Bild am Sonntag.

 

An Emnid poll also showed on Sunday that 52 percent of Germans backed a grand coalition.

 

Several European leaders have emphasised the importance of getting a stable German government in place quickly so the bloc can discuss its future, including proposals by French President Emmanuel Macron on euro zone reforms and Brexit.

 

Merkel, who made clear on Saturday she would pursue a grand coalition, says that an acting government under her leadership can do business until a new coalition is formed.

 

The youth wing of Merkel's conservatives raised pressure on the parties to get a deal done by Christmas, saying if there was no deal, the conservatives should opt for a minority government.

 

In an indication, however, that the process will take time, the CDU agreed on Sunday evening to delay a conference in mid-December that had been due to vote on the three-way coalition.

 

The SPD premier of the state of Lower Saxony said he feared there was no way a decision would be reached this year. "It is a long path for the SPD," said Stephan Weil on ARD television.

 

Merkel is against going down the route of a minority government because of its inherent instability, but pundits have said one possibility is for the conservatives and Greens to form a minority government with informal SPD support. The Greens have said they are open to a minority government.

 

POLICY SPATS

 

Even before any talks get under way, the two blocs have started to spar over policy priorities.

 

Merkel, whose conservatives won most parliamentary seats in a Sept. 24 vote but bled support to the far right, has said she wants to maintain sound finances in Germany, cut some taxes and invest in digital infrastructure.

 

She has to keep Bavaria's CSU on board by sticking to a tougher migrant policy that may also help win back conservatives who switched to the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).

 

The SPD needs a platform for its policies after its poorest election showing since 1933. Leading SPD figures have outlined conditions including investment in education and homes, changes in health insurance and no cap on asylum seekers.

 

Most experts believe the SPD has the stronger hand and several prominent economists said they expected the SPD to wield significant influence in a new grand coalition.

 

"If there is a grand coalition or even if there is toleration (of a minority government) I would expect more emphasis on the SPD's programme," Clemens Fuest, president of the Ifo institute, told business newspaper Handelsblatt.

 

That would mean higher state spending and smaller tax cuts than would have been agreed with other potential partners.

 

The SPD is divided, with some members arguing that a grand coalition has had its day.

 

The SPD premier of the state of Rhineland Palatinate, Malu Dreyer, said she preferred the idea of the SPD "tolerating" a minority government over a grand coalition, making clear that the party would not agree to a deal at any price.

 

(Reporting by Andreas Rinke and Madeline Chambers; Editing by David Goodman and Peter Cooney)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-11-27

[maximillian]

That's what I've predicted.

Schulz had categorically excluded a grand coalition after the election.

Now he is happy to have a good excuse to go to bed with Merkel.

Liars and traitors, all of them.

[Grouse]

36 minutes ago, maximillian said:

That's what I've predicted.

Schulz had categorically excluded a grand coalition after the election.

Now he is happy to have a good excuse to go to bed with Merkel.

Liars and traitors, all of them.

What policies do you not agree with?

[Dagnabbit]

Merkel should step down & they should have another election./

[Srikcir]

Merkel remains a strong leader, not only in Germany but in the EU. Win-win.

[blazes]

Two failed parties of the Right and the Left.  What an inspiring combination to face the German people.

[Srikcir]

7 minutes ago, blazes said:

Two failed parties of the Right and the Left.  What an inspiring combination to face the German people.

I would call it a successful reconciliation of the Right and Left parties to form a strong and stable government.

Shows the success of the Mixed Member Proportional electoral process used in Germany. Thailand's CDC examined that system during a German election for possible use in Thailand's 2015 election (that never materialized) but rejected it as not being "Thai" enough.

[Grouse]

54 minutes ago, blazes said:

Two failed parties of the Right and the Left.  What an inspiring combination to face the German people.

And how do YOU quantify success and failure?

 

You do realise the discussion is about Germany, NOT the UK?

[blazes]

3 minutes ago, Grouse said:

And how do YOU quantify success and failure?

 

You do realise the discussion is about Germany, NOT the UK?

Why the ref to UK?

 

An example  (since you ask) of a failed party of the Left is Labour under Blair (since Blair was basically a Thatcherite).  An example of a failed party of the Right is the Tories under Mrs May (sorry, the UK examples too easily came to mind).   In France, obviously Hollande's "socialists" were a massive failure since they wilted under pressure from big business.

In Germany, the SPD is scarcely distinguishable from the Greens.  But it would be too tedious to write a long-winded analysis of why so and so and such and such are "failures".  If you know anything about politics, you will know where my stance originates.

[Grouse]

1 hour ago, blazes said:

Why the ref to UK?

 

An example  (since you ask) of a failed party of the Left is Labour under Blair (since Blair was basically a Thatcherite).  An example of a failed party of the Right is the Tories under Mrs May (sorry, the UK examples too easily came to mind).   In France, obviously Hollande's "socialists" were a massive failure since they wilted under pressure from big business.

In Germany, the SPD is scarcely distinguishable from the Greens.  But it would be too tedious to write a long-winded analysis of why so and so and such and such are "failures".  If you know anything about politics, you will know where my stance originates.

Well it is my contention that Merkel's coalitions have generally made a decent fist of things (although I am anti Muslim and pro nuclear)

 

Certainly a much better job that U.K. Governments by far

[mrdome]

13 hours ago, maximillian said:

That's what I've predicted.

Schulz had categorically excluded a grand coalition after the election.

Now he is happy to have a good excuse to go to bed with Merkel.

Liars and traitors, all of them.

Come on, now. You wrote yourself "after the election" which is correct. So, what was the betrayal to the voters when this didn't happen before the election? Did anyone lose anything because they aren't in the opposition now?

 

I myself cannot recommend that the SPD enter into another grand coalition but this new situation did demand a 'rethink', so those negative terms don't fit here.

[mrdome]

12 hours ago, Dagnabbit said:

Merkel should step down & they should have another election./

As much as I dislike her, as the presidential candidate of the party with the most votes I can understand if she sees no reason to step down.

 

A new election would send the message to the voters "you voted wrong the first time, now try harder and do it better now" = BS. Not our fault that the FDP felt it wasn't going anywhere.

 

The outcome would not be that much different. The age of any one party taking 50% or more of the votes in Germany is over (for now).

 

If you believe the CDU would be beaten by another party and we could have a different chancellor that way, you are dreaming (says this non-CDU voter for life). Schulz was clearly rejected by the masses in September. We have to be realistic here.