“Lies instead of solutions”

Social Democrat leader Martin Schulz’s assurances that the party will not abandon the country’s 2020 emissions reduction goal ring hollow, as the paper resulting from exploratory talks with Merkel’s CDU shows lack of ambition to reach it, Malte Kreutzfeldt writes in a comment piece for taz. The SPD did not include climate action as an area for tougher negotiation in the final round of the talks to form a new government, Kreutzfeldt says. “In light of this rejection of reality, one can only hope that for the sake of climate action, SPD members ultimately reject a new grand coalition,” he writes. This would open the door for a new election, and a realistic opportunity for a coalition government of the CDU and the Green party.

Find the taz article in German here and a news piece on Schulz speech at the party convention paving the way for the next round of coalition talks here.