Merkel set out coalition agenda as Greens pull out of talks By Quentin Peel in Berlin

The Green party delegation heads into talks with the CDU Angela Merkel, Ger an chancellor, spelt out for the first ti e on !ednesday her core agenda for the ne"t coalition go#ern ent in Berlin, including $federal refor % alongside sta&ilisation of the euro'one as central ele ents( At the sa e ti e she fired a warning shot a&out the ain de and of the )ocial De ocrats * her ost likely coalition partners * for a statutory ini u wage( $!e ust &eware that we do not destroy +o&s &y doing that,% she said( Talks a&out whether to launch for al negotiations for a grand $left,right% coalition in Ger any will restart on Thursday, after the en#iron entalist Green party pulled out of parallel negotiations for an alliance with Ms Merkel-s Christian De ocrats( The decision &y the Greens clears the way for the )ocial De ocratic party to +oin a go#ern ent under the Ger an chancellor, &ut there is still no guarantee that the negotiations will end in success( )peaking at a trade union congress in .ano#er, Ms Merkel na ed four $&ig tasks% facing the ne"t go#ern ent( Apart fro the para ount challenge of the euro'one crisis, she singled out cur&ing the soaring costs of Ger any-s energy transition fro nuclear power generation, and strategies to cope with the country-s ageing population, as well as the #ague su&+ect of $federal refor %( The first three su&+ects should all &e capa&le of agree ent &etween the two parties( But the key to a successful grand coalition could &e the #ague heading of federal refor ( All /0 federal states * the Ger an 12nder * are facing a loo ing cash crunch( They urgently need infrastructure in#est ent +ust as they are re3uired to stop &orrowing and &alance their &udgets( A coalition agree ent that finds ore oney for the 12nder could persuade the a+ority of )PD state pre iers to &ack it( Although a $grand coalition% would &e the ost popular choice for Ger an #oters, and for any e &ers of Ms Merkel-s Christian De ocratic Union, it is regarded with deep suspicion &y any grassroots )PD party e &ers( 1aunching for al

negotiations will ha#e to &e appro#ed &y a party con#ention on )unday, and a final deal will &e put to a referendu of )PD e &ers( The Greens ha#e therefore not entirely sla ed the door on further talks( Ce 4'de ir, co,chair an of the party, said it would &e $foolish% to do so( But the Green negotiating tea concluded that in spite of a #ery good at osphere in their talks with Ms Merkel, there were ore differences than there was co on ground with the CDU and its sister party, the Ba#aria,&ased Christian )ocial Union( $The situation is full of suspense,% said )teffi 1e ke, general secretary of the Green party, after e erging fro ore than si" hours of talks on Tuesday night( )he said the negotiations for what would ha#e &een the first,e#er national coalition &etween the conser#ati#e CDU5C)U, and the centre,left Greens had &een $#ery constructi#e, #ery o&+ecti#e, and #ery detailed(((the at osphere was uch &etter than 6we7 e"pected%( Ms Merkel-s negotiating tea had shown a willingness to reach agree ent on issues such as asylu policy and dual citi'enship for i igrants, &ut the sticking point had &een on gi#ing a&solute priority to renewa&le energy to replace fossil fuels, she added( Another leading e &er of the Green tea , !infried 8retsch ann, state pre ier in Baden,!9rtte &erg, said the talks showed that a $&lack,green% coalition at national le#el was no longer unthinka&le( Both sides had genuinely tried to find co on ground, he said( $That is a change for the future( !e can &uild on that(% But the challenge now for Ms Merkel is to find enough concessions to &ring the )PD on &oard, while insisting that she and her Christian De ocrats were #ery clear election winners on )epte &er ::( They ha#e ;// seats out of 0;/ in the new Bundestag, +ust fi#e short of an a&solute a+ority( !hile )ig ar Ga&riel, )PD national chair an and ost likely #ice,chancellor in a grand coalition, is seen to &e fa#oura&le to such a deal, the party grass roots are uch ore sceptical( <f an )PD referendu #oted against such an alliance, Ms Merkel ight turn &ack to the Greens, or call a new election( Alternati#ely, Mr Ga&riel could try to negotiate a $red,red,green% coalition to include the far,left 1inke party as well as the Greens * an alliance with for er co unists that he has flatly re+ected in the past(