The German Social Democrats (SPD), Green and Free Democrats (FDP) have reached a preliminary agreement on the next government, the Minister of Finance and SPD leader Olaf Scholz said on Friday after several rounds of tripartite talks.
These parties were involved in the negotiations for the formation of an informal coalition immediately after 26 September Bundestag elections. The decision is an important step towards the formation of a new government, which in Germany often takes several months. If further negotiations are successful, the first three-party coalition since the 1950s will be formed at the federal level.
The agreement means that the Christian Democrats of the former Chancellor Angela Merkel will not be involved in forming the next coalition.
In a joint statement issued on Friday after the final round of exploratory talks, party leaders expressed confidence that an ambitious and viable coalition agreement could be reached. It is expected that the Greens will now hold a party conference this weekend, but the Free Democrat negotiators will meet with the party leadership before continuing the negotiation process.
According to a public opinion poll published by the TV channel ZDF, 62% of Germans support the so-called “traffic light coalition” consisting of social democrats, “green” and free democrats.
Scholz, the leader of the Social Democrats, is likely to take over as German chancellor. He will replace Angela Merkel, who has held this position for 16 years.
The three parties have already agreed on a number of issues, such as the abandonment of coal-fired power plants by 2030. Instead, it is planned to develop renewable energy, such as wind farms and solar panels on the roofs of houses.
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