Reconciling economic and environment policy core question in coalition talks - chancellery chief

Coalition talks between CDU, CSU, FDP and Green Party will be about the parties’ ability “to make something constructive of the differences”, said chancellery chief and Christian Democrat Peter Altmaier in an interview with German public broadcaster ARD after the first round of talks. “Is it possible to reconcile the economy and the environment in a way that allows us to remain a successful economic nation, and still lead in international environment protection? That is one of the big core questions,” said Altmaier. Chancellor Angela Merkel and her team met with FDP and Green Party politicians in separate sessions. Talks will continue today between the Greens and the FDP, before all parties jointly meet for the first time on Friday, 20 October. Germany’s climate targets, the future of coal-fired power generation and other energy-related topics will likely play a big role in the talks.

Watch the video in German here.

For background, read the CLEW article Coalition watch – The making of a new German government and the CLEW factsheets The long road to a new government coalition in Germany and Climate & energy stumbling blocks for Jamaica-coalition talks.