Coalition committee meetsThe military service agreement is a glimmer of hope for the crisis coalition
With the new military service agreed, the Union and the SPD are resolving controversial issues. The coalition still needs to talk. Tonight Klingbeil, Bas, Söder and Merz meet and want to solve the problem.
“Lars, we have to talk” – it is not known whether Chancellor Friedrich Merz asked his front friend Lars Klingbeil to talk to him like this. But what is certain is that there is a need for talks between the Union and the SPD when they meet at the coalition committee tonight. Ideally, this meeting is a quiet work meeting. You see what’s happening, where there might be problems, and how to solve them before they actually arise. But this time there’s a reason to talk about the big picture.
Things are not going well for the coalition. There were creaks and creaks in every nook and cranny. In the European Union, young people oppose pension reform. In the SPD, young people oppose the reform of citizens’ benefits.
Merz, Klingbeil, Söder and Bas will not change much tonight. They probably won’t resolve the dispute over the retirement package – not before Junge Union’s “Germany Day” at the weekend, which is unlikely to give up before its big appearance. Parliamentary union group leader Jens Spahn said he expected a decision on industrial electricity prices. CDU Secretary General Carsten Linnemann also called for this to the “Handelsblatt”.
Even without a ban on internal combustion engines, there is high pressure to act
The phasing out of combustion engines across the European Union from 2035 could also be an issue. The CDU and CSU at least want to loosen things up, the SPD is still undecided. A possible compromise would be to allow hybrid or electric cars with “range extenders”, small combustion engines intended to increase range, even longer.
Whatever happens with the internal combustion engine ban, pressure on governments to act remains high. The Council of Economic Advisers gave a pretty dismal report to the government on Wednesday. According to “Economists”, what is happening with dedicated funds for infrastructure and climate protection is what many people, especially the Green Party, have always warned about: they are not all being spent on roads, bridges and railways.
Instead, long-planned projects are moving from the federal budget to special funds – where they provide funding for maternal pensions and commuter benefits. Pundit Veronika Grimm on Wednesday called for the billions in extra spending to be halted, “perhaps in the spring of reform,” she said with a bit of brashness. A number of industry associations also protested this and submitted complaints through inflammatory letters about the high costs. But CSU boss Söder won’t back down on this – mothers’ pensions and commuter allowances are his election promises.
Boosting the economy is Merz’s most important election promise. He even wanted to bring a change of mood to summer. Even with the “autumn of reform” he may no longer be able to do this. This is what the trend barometers from RTL and ntv suggest. The Unity parties are weakening, as is the SPD, and the AfD welcomes us from above. People are disappointed with Merz, the coalition no longer exists.
Tariffs complicate the situation
There is one thing that is often forgotten: this is a crisis, and a serious one. If Russia stops supplying cheap gas and instead attacks countries in Europe, the challenge will be greater than ever. If China prefers to export high technology and does so at lower prices than German industrial dinosaurs, this cannot be easily dismissed. If US President Donald Trump raises the customs wall and threatens to leave NATO, this will make the situation even more complicated. Every government can only try to make the best use of it. But even a less controversial government can’t change that.
After all, it’s not all bad. The number of asylum seekers is falling. Coalition members have just agreed to a new military draft. The coalition was a success, although not everyone was happy with the compromise. On Monday, experts such as military historian Sönke Neitzel called for automatic conscription if there are not enough volunteers for new military service. But there won’t be.
The CDU and CSU wanted this, but the SPD opposed it. Later that morning, CDU foreign policy expert Norbert Röttgen said it was not a politician’s responsibility to “draw conclusions that are absolutely necessary” and urged that others accept his own opinion. “This is how politics will fail,” he said. Coalition partners should “handle differences with respect” and “come together to reach a convincing compromise.” Sentences to frame the Union and the SPD. Viewed this way, the military service agreement was a glimmer of hope in this gloomy black and red autumn.
