Green leader Lang: “Citizens deserve a government that can agree”

Gruen boss Ricarda Lang is urging the coalition parties to settle their dispute over energy policy issues at the forthcoming summit meeting on Sunday. “Citizens deserve that a government can finally come to an agreement here,” Lang said on Wednesday morning on Bayerischer Rundfunk. In the coalition, “all partners are asked to sit down with a little more calm, composure and objectivity”.

Each of the solutions must “be able to be measured against the reality of the climate crisis,” demanded the Greens leader. With a view to the points of contention such as the EU’s combustion ban, the phase-out of coal and the future of oil and gas heating, she said: “If everyone always stands up and says that we are also for the goal, but then with every single measure that is on the table, are always against it and at the same time do not present any other alternatives, then they are not serious about the goal.”

Habeck criticizes piercing of the “image”

Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck criticized on Tuesday evening on ARD that a draft law on heating replacement had been pushed through to the press at an early stage. “We have early coordination in the government, which means that only a few people get the draft laws that you look at and say: Listen, we still need to talk about that, you can’t put that in the departmental vote.” There has never been anything been pierced.

“Here the draft law to the “Bild” newspaper – and I must therefore assume – was deliberately leaked in order to damage trust in the government.” In this respect, talks between the coalition partners “were probably destroyed on purpose, because of the cheap tactical advantage “. Since something like this doesn’t happen by accident, he is “a bit alarmed whether there is any willingness to agree at all”. That damaged the project and the debate.

SPD leader Lars Klingbeil has also called for conflicts to be resolved more quickly in the traffic light coalition. “Discussing and having political arguments in a time of crisis is legitimate, that’s part of it,” said Klingbeil on Saturday at a conference of members of the Bundestag from North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony and Bremen in Dortmund. “But some of these arguments take too long for me. ” The style of the SPD must be “that the problems are solved on a large scale and that we don’t allow people to get caught up in small things”.

With a view to the budget dispute, Klingbeil warned against offsetting social and defense spending against each other. “We will not allow one to suddenly start playing one off against the other.” In this context, it is also clear that the planned basic child security must not be shaken. “It is agreed in the coalition agreement,” emphasized Klingbeil.

Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) postponed his key points for the 2024 budget to an indefinite date on Friday. It was originally supposed to be presented next Wednesday. The traffic light coalition has agreed that benefits from child benefit to child allowance and financial support for school trips are bundled in a basic child security system and should reach the beneficiaries better. However, it is disputed whether this should also mean a multi-billion dollar financial increase.

On Sunday evening, the coalition leaders want to meet in Berlin for a coalition committee to resolve the issues.