Ultimately, it is also about votes.
(Photo: AP)
Berlin Chancellor Olaf Scholz watched how teams work at the European Championship final at Wembley Stadium. As Germany’s women drew level with England, injured captain Alexandra Popp jumped up and sprinted onto the field to cheer with the players. Later, at the moment of defeat, she encouraged the team that they had played a brilliant tournament. You win and lose together.
At Scholz’ cabinet table, on the other hand, there is little in common. The traffic light looks like a coalition of opponents. She scores different goals. At least that’s what many current debates sound like.
In the nuclear issue, the FDP, in alliance with the Union, is challenging the Greens. With a lot of pragmatism, the party could perhaps agree to a stretching operation for a few months. But nothing more can be done with the Greens.
This rejection is not wise. Nobody can currently say with certainty whether the country can really get by without nuclear power in the years that are threatened by a shortage of gas. The Greens consider one thing above all: the anti-nuclear movement was their moment of awakening. This requires tact that the coalition partner does not have.
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It’s certainly about the matter, but it’s also about votes. The Greens are the strongest governing party in the polls, while the SPD and FDP are weak. Those losses hurt. And no one wants to increase it through unpopular decisions. That is why the traffic light coalition is piling up a number of other contentious issues.
In the pandemic, the FDP is pushing for as few measures as possible, while the SPD and Greens are demanding as many rules as possible. For the Liberals, the excess profit tax is “poison for the economy”. The coalition partners, on the other hand, want to use this to finance further relief.
The word coalition comes from the Latin term “coalitio”, which means union or association. The country needs nothing more in this time of crisis.
More: Union demands fast nuclear concept