Schaeuble to head German parliament
CDU, SPD neck-&-neck
BERLIN, Sept 28, (RTRS): Germany took a first decisive step on Wednesday towards forming a new government when its veteran finance minister, conservative Wolfgang Schaeuble, agreed to become president of the parliament, clearing the way for another party to take his job.
Chancellor Angela Merkel will hope that Schaeuble, deeply respected in Germany for helping to steer the euro zone through its debt crisis, can stamp his authority on a fractious Bundestag lower house that will include two more parties after Sunday’s federal election.
Merkel must assemble Germany’s first three-way coalition since the 1950s after her conservatives lost support and a far-right party, the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD), entered parliament for the first time in half a century. In a sign of the challenges ahead, Andrea Nahles, the Social Democrats’ newly elected parliamentary leader, told reporters her party would hit conservatives “squarely in the jaw” after four years as junior partner in a Merkel-led “grand coalition”.
Merkel’s most realistic coalition option now is a deal with the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP), returning to parliament after a four-year hiatus, and the Greens.
But the parties disagree on issues such as energy, Europe and migration, complicating the path to a socalled ‘Jamaica’ coalition — a reference to the parties’ colours: black, yellow and green, which are also those of the Jamaican flag.
Crisis
Schaeuble, 75, who emerged as one of Europe’s most influential politicians during the eurozone crisis, will bring unprecedented weight to the role of Bundestag president, normally a low-profile position.
His willingness to quit as finance minister after eight years in the post makes it easier for the FDP to join a Merkel-led coalition. The FDP, who are as fiscally hawkish as Schaeuble, have said they want his old job.
“As an outstanding personality Wolfgang Schaeuble possesses a natural authority that is of particular importance in these times,” said FDP leader Christian Lindner, himself seen as a likely successor at the finance ministry.
Lindner’s deputy, Wolfgang Kubicki, another possible candidate for the post, told the RND newspaper chain that Schaeuble’s move showed Merkel’s openness to a ‘Jamaica’ coalition. He also underscored his party’s call for a shift in fiscal policy.
Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) and the rival Social Democrats (SPD) are neck-and-neck ahead of a crucial regional election in the state of Lower Saxony, an infratest dimap poll showed on Thursday.
The Oct 15 snap election is being followed unusually closely because it follows just three weeks after national elections and will delay federal coalition negotiations, since parties are reluctant to alienate core voters by making compromises ahead of a key regional vote.
The poll placed the CDU on 35 percent, just ahead of the SPD on 34 percent. The Greens were in third place on 9 percent, followed by the pro-business Free Democrats on 8 percent.
The radical Left party was on 5 percent and the farright Alternative for Germany (AfD) party was on 6 percent.
Leaders of Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party will meet on Oct 8 to discuss a future coalition with other parties following Sunday’s election, conservative sources said.
Months of uncertainty loom in Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, after Merkel’s conservatives won a fourth term in the election but bled support to the farright Alternative for Germany (AfD).
Bavaria’s Christian Social Union (CSU) has signalled it wants a rightward shift to focus on security and immigration curbs to dampen the appeal of the AfD to its voters.