German parties inch closer to coalition with deal on skilled immigrants
BERLIN: Germany’s would- be coalition partners have reached agreement on a law to attract skilled immigrants, German media reported, suggesting the parties are edging closer to a decision to open formal coalition negotiations.
Conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel is betting on the reluctant Social Democrats (SPD) to give her a fourth term following 12 years at the helm after her initial efforts to form a coalition with two smaller parties failed in November.
But many in the SPD oppose a repeat of the ‘grand coalition’ that governed for the past four years as they fear it will further weaken the centre-left party, which suffered its worst result in September’s vote since 1933.
Some SPD members are also concerned that a new grand coalition would make the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) the main opposition party.
Immigration is one of the most sensitive topics in the talks.
German newspaper network RND cited a paper from a working group in the exploratory talks as saying the parties had agreed that skilled workers should be encouraged to come to Germany in an orderly way.
But they disagreed on the law’s name, it said.
More than a million migrants, many of them fleeing conflict in the Middle East, have arrived in Germany since mid-2015 but many have struggled to find their feet in the labour market due to a lack of language or vocational skills.
Europe’s largest economy needs skilled labour, given its ageing population.
The understanding on that topic, following compromises on tax and carbon emissions policy achieved on Monday, indicates the parties could strike a deal to end the political impasse in Germany more than three months after the national election.
The political uncertainty has not cast a shadow over the booming economy, with the government on Tuesday raising its 2017 growth forecast and saying it expected the upswing to continue this year.
That is having a knock- on effect on public finances.
The financial daily Handelsblatt reported that the government had a stronger-than- expected surplus in 2017 and that, combined with unused funds earmarked for asylum seekers, means it has 10.4 billion euros more to spend than planned.
Deputy Finance Minister Jens Spahn said on Twitter that the surplus had been ‘ priced into’ sums being discussed during the exploratory discussions.
Emerging from the talks, Christian Social Union ( CSU) Secretary General Andreas Scheuer said, without giving specific details, that the parties had got some interim results but nothing was fixed. — Reuters