Traffic light disagreed on financial policy: FDP General Secretary: "Debts do not create a future"

In the "deepened explorations" to form a traffic light coalition of the SPD, Greens and FDP, it will also be about the sticking points from Monday.

Greens co-boss Robert Habeck made it clear at the weekend that there are still a lot of and sometimes considerable differences between the potential government partners, especially in financial policy.

The youth organization of the Greens clearly rejected a Jamaica coalition led by the Union and formulated specific demands for a traffic light.

Meanwhile, the FDP affirmed that it did not want to support any tax increases that the SPD and the Greens are striving for for top earners and the wealthy to relieve low wage earners.

"Finance is not just about budget"

“I want to emphasize that the drop is far from being sucked.

We have a long way to go and it will be very exhausting, ”Habeck told Deutschlandfunk.

This week probes are planned for Monday, Tuesday and Friday.

Then the decision could be made as to whether official coalition negotiations will follow.

So far, however, there is no clear timetable for this.

Habeck said the public will still see that there are conflicts.

“Well, there are recognizable differences between us and perhaps also the SPD and the FDP on the subject of finance.

And finance does not only mean budget, but also providing investment opportunities for climate protection. "

This does not stop at Europe.

“The Corona crisis has driven all European countries into debt.

If you force them to repay this debt, as provided for in the Stability and Growth Pact, via a very strict debt rule, then southern European countries will only succeed with massive cuts in the social budget. "

Who will be finance minister?

FDP General Secretary Volker Wissing told "Bild am Sonntag" that the Liberals were not prepared to make any concessions on tax increases or the debt brake.

“Everyone we talked to knows our demands: no tax increases and no easing of the debt brake.

We hold on to that.

Debt does not create a future. "

During the election campaign, FDP leader Christian Lindner made no secret of his desire to head the influential finance ministry in the future.

In a traffic light coalition, the Greens could also claim this, but they would also like to head a climate ministry.

According to an Insa survey for “Bild am Sonntag”, 48 percent would vote for Lindner as finance minister in the event of a traffic light coalition and 27 percent for Habeck.

59 percent of those surveyed consider the potential Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) to be suitable to succeed Angela Merkel (CDU).

29 percent see it differently.

Talking in the Ringelpietz

The Green Youth made it clear at the weekend that a coalition with the loser CDU / CSU was not an option. “There isn't one reason for Jamaica - but there are many reasons against it. For us, a Jamaica coalition is out of the question. With the SPD there are strong overlaps in terms of content, which form a good basis for the upcoming negotiations ”, it said in a resolution paper. "The similarities must become clear in a possible coalition and must not be lost at the expense of the FDP's policy of rich and clientele."

The new government must stand for a real change: "Important investments in the future must not fail because of the dogma of the black zero." For the Greens, co-government is not an end in itself, the standstill must be ended. The youth organization named among other things a coal phase-out as early as 2030, a significantly rising CO2 price with full social compensation and a minimum wage, which must be raised to at least twelve euros as quickly as possible, as demands.

Habeck indicated on Deutschlandfunk that there should be a written summary after the explorations.

It is now a matter of finding solutions despite all the differences.

"We talked for a long time in the Ringelpietz last week and of course we don't just talk about what we find stupid about each other, but how we can somehow get it together."