There is a new buzzword in the political exchange: "left-yellow".

CDU MPs such as the domestic politician Thorsten Frei or the right-wing politician Jan-Marco Luczak have used the term to initiate their criticism of the coalition agreement of the traffic light coalition made up of the SPD, the Greens and the FDP.

Eckart Lohse

Head of the parliamentary editorial office in Berlin.

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Now neither the Social Democrats nor the Greens would deny that they are left-wing parties, and the FDP has no reason to see itself insulted by the assignment of the color yellow. In contrast to the abusive term “left-green-filthy” used by actors who are usually on the right of the CDU, “left-yellow” is not an insult. Nevertheless, he could stand for the attempt to push the future Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his coalition into the left corner. The CDU had already started this maneuver during the election campaign and was at least relatively successful with it.

One of those who sit in one of the last influential positions that the Union has to assign in the federal government for the foreseeable future and who wants to keep his office, warned the traffic light particularly sharply against a shift to the left immediately after the publication of the coalition agreement.

On Deutschlandfunk, the chairman of the Union parliamentary group in the Bundestag, the CDU member Ralph Brinkhaus, said that when it came to migration, the coalition agreement was “certainly very, very, very far left”.

Regarding a situation in which the Union would have come to power, he says: "We would certainly not have had this brutal openness in the area of ​​migration."

Brinkhaus skeptical

It is true that the coalition agreement between the SPD, Greens and FDP states that “irregular migration will be reduced” - a goal that the previous government also had. In contrast, "regular migration" should be made possible, according to the traffic light parties. On the other hand, there are critical comments from the Union. Brinkhaus referred to a plan by the future government to change the previous “chain tolerances” for those people who do not have a permanent or even limited residence permit, but are not deported.

In the coalition agreement, it says: “We oppose the previous practice of chain tolerances with an opportunity to reside in Germany: People who have lived in Germany for five years on January 1, 2022, have not committed a criminal offense and are committed to the free democratic basic order should be given a year-long residence permit Can obtain a residence permit on trial in order to meet the other requirements for a right of residence during this time. "

Brinkhaus said he was concerned that "young people - young men, let's be honest", regardless of how they got into the country, would get permanent residence after a certain period of time.

Many allegations against traffic light parties

On day one, after the Union had presented the traffic light treaty, there was no criticism of the plans for migration policy. Other accusations that the Union likes to make the parties on its left (when it is not currently governing with them) came on the table: unsound financial policy, inadequate plans to improve the powers of investigators in the fight against crime, abolition the ban on advertising for abortions, distribution of cannabis. It rained down allegations on the traffic light parties.

Two exceptions stood out. One was the outgoing Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer. The CSU politician, a humorous person, congratulated the SPD, Greens and FDP in his own way. "It's nice that the traffic lights continue my work over the past few years," he told the German Press Agency. He could have written the coalition agreement presented by the traffic light himself for Verkehr und Digitales.

The CDU chairman and failed chancellor candidate Armin Laschet commented on the event in a less humorous way, but with a powerful blow on his own people.

"Congratulations to the Ampel-Koalition, especially on the style and form of the negotiations," he tweeted.

Confidentiality is an important prerequisite for trust.

The Union must learn that again.

He received praise from traffic light circles for this.

“That's how fair opposition works.

Hats off, ”replied the Social Democratic Labor Minister Hubertus Heil.