Greens, Social Democrats open coalition talks in Berlin

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Greens, Social Democrats open coalition talks in Berlin

Greens Party co-leaders Robert Habeck and Annalena Baerbock and Social Democratic Party SPD Top candidate for chancellor Olaf Scholz listen to Free Democratic Party FDP PDP leader Christian Lindner as he gives a statement after a meeting for exploratory talks for a possible new government coalition in Berlin, Germany, October 15, 2021. BERLIN, Oct 15 Reuters - Olaf Scholz wants to wrap up the negotiations that should make him Germany's next chancellor by Christmas. The Friday agreement between his Liberal Democrats, the Greens and the Social Democrats on opening coalition talks are a big step towards that goal.

Their barebones agreement, which includes commitments on climate change, not hiking taxes, simplifying immigration, the minimum wage and not imposing a speed limit, leaves much for specialist party working groups to do.

Over the next two months, policy experts must fill in the many gaps left in the 12 - page agreement they have reached. The full coalition deal between the SPD conservatives and Angela Merkel ran to 175 pages in 2018 and contained specific commitments on legislation the two parties would enact.

A deal is not guaranteed, but a breakdown in talks would be a huge shock: in modern German history no would-be coalition parties have ever been backed out after having agreed to full coalition talks. In 2017, three-way discussions collapsed at an earlier exploratory phase.

If President Frank-Walter Steinmeier could step in, would the president be forced to step in, but this would be uncharted territory.

The parties are committed not to raising taxes, but both the Greens and the SPD have made extensive spending commitments as part of their promise to create a more egalitarian society.

One fix could be to concentrate some of that spending in areas that matter to the tax-shy FDP, for example by investing heavily in digital infrastructure.

The deal promises a decade of investments in the future - without scrapping the german debt brake enshrined in the totemic constitution. If a promise to overcome tax avoidance will help plug the gap, it could increase.

The deal contains warm words about the European Union but many details must still be resolved: the FDP opposes EU debt union that many in the Greens and the SPD are keen on.

The Greens support a common EU fiscal policy to support investment in the environment, research, infrastructure and education.

The SPD regards the Eurozone post-pandemic recovery package as the basis for building trust in the EU project and has spoken of taking steps toward a fiscal union.

The Greens and the FDP are more wary of China than the SPD or the conservatives, agreeing that Chinese firms should have no part in building German's next-generation communications networks to keep them secure.

The agreement says Russia and China must diversify its energy supply but does not touch specific issues and ignores Germany or Switzerland.

In some areas the German Greens are a marginal minority in the Politik of Geography. Contrary to their prospective coalition partners or Merkel's conservatives, they oppose increasing German military spending to NATO and NATO's goal of 2% of the economic output.

While warm words are given to NATO, the initial agreement is silent in how defence spending should develop.