The traffic light coalition has found an agreement. The news arrived this morning and should be made official by today. After two months of negotiations, the deadline set for finding a governing coalition to replace the GroBe Koalition led by Angela Merkel was therefore met . That Social Democrats, Greens and Liberals were almost on the verge of reaching an agreement was already understood by the unofficial list of ministers that had circulated last weekend. This last night was long but fruitful. THE NEXT STEPS
After individual party meetings that are taking place at this time, the leaders of the SPD, Grune and Fdp will hold a press conference at 15:00 in Berlin in which they will illustrate the main points of the agreement. Olaf Scholz, candidate chancellor of the SPD, the party that has obtained the most votes among the three, should be sworn in as the new German chancellor to succeed Angela Merkel in the Bundestag around 6 December. Germany will soon be led by three Social Democrats: the President of the Republic Frank- Walter Steinmeier , the future Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the newly elected President of the Bundestag Bardel Bas . HOW THE CHANCELLOR IS ELECTED
The German system, according to what the “Basic Law” says, is slightly different from the Italian one, although it is always based on an indirect election system that passes through the parliament. The nearly 600 members of the newly elected Bundestag will vote for the next chancellor in a secret ballot. The name will be suggested by the President of the Republic. The latter is not obliged to suggest the person the parties have chosen in coalition talks, but must present a candidate who has a reasonable chance of being voted on. And therefore the choice always falls on who conducted the negotiations and found a coalition agreement between the parties, given that in Germany governments are always made up of more than one party. If this person receives an absolute majority in the first round of voting – as has always happened up to now – the president must declare him chancellor. The elected chancellor will then take the oath before the president of the Bundestag.WHAT NEVER HAPPENED
If the majority of parliamentarians do not vote for the candidate chancellor in the first round, a second round of voting begins. If this is not successful after 14 days, the President of the Republic can accept a “minority chancellor”, who would have the same rights as a chancellor elected by an absolute majority, or he can dissolve the Bundestag. If he dissolves parliament, new elections must be held within 60 days. SUPER MINISTRY OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND OTHER AGREEMENTS
After the idea of ​​creating a ministry of the environment with veto power had been circulated, it now appears that this ministry will have powers that until now have been in the hands of the ministries of economy and energy. This could mean that the entire ministry of economics could be absorbed into the climate department for the parts that concern the environment. One of the priorities of this super ministry will be the phasing out of coal-fired power generation, possibly by 2030.
The liberals have checked the speed limit: it will not be introduced. On the issue of migration, it was decided to speed up asylum, family reunification and repatriation procedures. Waiting for the official list of ministers, we can anticipate two measures that this government will almost certainly carry out during the first year: the legal minimum wage (SPD worry) will be increased to twelve euros per hour (currently and 9.60 euros ). The age for voting in the Bundestag and the European elections will be reduced from 18 to 16 years. THE PRIORITY OF THE NEW SCHOLZ GOVERNMENT
The new chancellor Olaf Sholz is faced with an imminent problem: the fourth wave of Covid-19 that is overwhelming Central Europe. After the US State Department has also urged Americans not to go to Germany, even among those who are vaccinated, the problem is growing every day.
So far the political stalemate has led to indecision on the management of the pandemic: the outgoing government led by Angela Merkel does not want to make such binding decisions and the incoming one cannot yet take them. The Christmas markets, those that were closed last year following a very heartfelt speech by Merkel, have been opened but with many hesitations. The government, according to many experts, should go towards restrictions as is happening in Austria, which is in lockdown, and in the Netherlands. But many are wondering if a new government wants and can make such unpopular decisions close to Christmas.
