The traffic light under pressure: will the coalition succeed in reversing the trend at its retreat in Meseberg?

Created: 08/30/2022, 22:05

By: Fabian Hartmann

Promises quick help: Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) in front of Meseberg Castle.

© Kay Nietfeld/dpa

The traffic light is withdrawing to the provinces for two days for the cabinet retreat.

After a lot of trouble, a signal to get going.

The opposition "has seldom experienced such chaos".

Berlin – The place is already a statement.

Meseberg, Brandenburg castle idyll, 70 kilometers from Berlin.

The traffic light has withdrawn here for its cabinet retreat.

For two days, the coalition partners want to discuss, link arms and demonstrate unity away from the hectic bustle of the capital.

The baroque surroundings – a place of departure?

There have been doubts about that, at least since the weekend.

Then there was another crack at the traffic light.

And this time it wasn't the Liberals, but the SPD and the Greens, who attacked each other.

When it came to gas price allocation, representatives of both parties insulted each other.

The SPD railed against the Economics Minister responsible for this, Robert Habeck (Greens), the Greens backtracked and slandered the "poor performance" of Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD).

Traffic light cabinet retreat: The pressure on the coalition is increasing

boom

It smokes, hisses and crunches at every nook and cranny in the coalition.

The tone has become more irritable.

And the challenges are stupidly getting bigger: As the Federal Statistical Office announced on Tuesday, inflation in Germany rose to 7.9 percent in August.

Electricity, gas, groceries: everything is getting more expensive.

Economists expect even higher values ​​from autumn and winter.

Especially since price-dampening measures such as the 9-euro ticket and the fuel discount will expire at the end of August.

So the pressure on the traffic light is immense.

And the government is pulling itself together - it seems.

The alliance could agree on a third relief package this week.

In any case, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) wants to bring about a decision “very quickly”, he said in Meseberg.

Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) had previously signaled approval via Twitter.

According to Scholz, this time it should be a “relief package that is as tailor-made as possible, as efficient as possible and as targeted as possible”.

This means that people with small and middle incomes in particular should be relieved.

The FDP sees it that way too.

Zoff about the gas allocation in the SPD and the Greens: "Sometimes you have to hit the table"

That's the theory.

It is doubtful whether the coalition will regain its footing after just two days in Meseberg.

The problems are too big for that.

And the partners too different.

In an interview with the Munich newspaper IPPEN.MEDIA, Dirk Wiese tried to de-escalate the situation.

Zoff because of the gas surcharge?

"Sometimes you have to hit the table," says Wiese.

Trouble at traffic lights?

In the last few days you have seen that there are different approaches, yes.

But: "What unites us all is that we know what a responsible position we are in," says Wiese.

"People expect the federal government to present details of a third relief package very promptly."

The SPD parliamentary group has already outlined what that might look like: They are relying on direct payments, a nationwide 49-euro ticket and price brakes for basic electricity and gas needs.

But not everything that the comrades have in mind is likely to please the coalition partners.

The SPD wants to suspend the increase in the CO₂ price.

"We don't need that now as an additional burden for the companies," said parliamentary group leader Wiese.

A hook towards green.

Debate on the relief package: SPD politicians want to suspend the debt brake

Wiese also questions compliance with the debt brake next year.

"There are good technical and constitutional reasons for suspending them again," says the deputy.

And: The issue of excess profit tax is still on the table.

After all, the relief packages would have to be financed.

Only: The FDP is against both - the suspension of the debt brake and an excess profit tax - storm.

Intensive consultations are likely.

Things don't look much more harmonious on another major construction site of the coalition - the pandemic policy.

Berlin, last week.

Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) and his colleague from the Justice Department, Marco Buschmann (FDP), presented their laboriously found proposal for the Infection Protection Act.

Just one day later there were already the first withdrawal movements from the FDP.

And in the FAZ, Buschmann teased that one shouldn't "drive people crazy with horror scenarios".

He didn't even have to mention the name Lauterbach.

What the SPD and FDP are happy about, however, are blunders by the Greens.

Their frontman Robert Habeck seemed to be doing everything for a long time.

However, Habeck made a serious mistake when it came to the gas allocation.

The previous model provides that not only companies in need would benefit from it.

But also those who made good profits during the crisis.

A damper for the Greens, who left the SPD and FDP behind in the polls.

Which in turn promoted the distrust of the other two traffic light partners.

Zoff in the traffic light: Left parliamentary group leader Bartsch is surprised about "chaos"

Dietmar Bartsch has been in politics for a long time.

But the current state of the traffic light government surprises him too.

"In my political career I have rarely experienced such chaos as in the past few weeks," said the Left Party leader to the Munich newspaper IPPEN.MEDIA.

From Bartsch's point of view, the Chancellor would now be required.

"Olaf Scholz has the authority to set guidelines and it cannot be that the FDP permanently holds the other parties liable," says Bartsch - with this the left-wing politician is primarily aiming at the refusal of the liberals to accept higher taxes for the rich.

About IPPEN.MEDIA

The IPPEN.MEDIA network is one of the largest online publishers in Germany.

At the locations in Berlin, Hamburg/Bremen, Munich, Frankfurt, Cologne, Stuttgart and Vienna, journalists from our central editorial office research and publish for more than 50 news offers.

These include brands such as Merkur.de, FR.de and BuzzFeed Germany.

Our news, interviews, analyzes and comments reach more than 5 million people in Germany every day.

From Bartsch's point of view, it is clear what the government must do: direct payments to citizens graded according to income, a ban on electricity and gas cuts, more help for pensioners and students, a winter allowance for all private households and: a follow-up regulation for the 9th euro ticket.

“Social peace in Germany is threatened by exploding energy and food prices.

Action must be taken now," Bartsch told our editorial team.

Does the traffic light have the power to do that?

"Of course they will come to an agreement and that is also their job," says the Left Party leader.

However, less out of conviction.

Neither party has an interest in the coalition failing.

On the other hand: It's more than three years until the next election.

So the traffic light still has a chance to put the crisis behind it.

But for that she would have to stop the fights first.