Party delegates have voted by a large majority to join formal negotiations with the Social Democrats and the neoliberal FDP to form the next government.
The Green Party along with the neolilberal FDP are kingmakers in negotiations to form the next German governmentImage: Michele Tantussi/REUTERS
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Germany's Green Party voted on Sunday to join formal talks to be part of the country's next ruling coalition government.
The center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) won the largest share of the vote and has been holding preliminary talks with the Greens and the business-focused Free Democratic Party (FDP) for the past week.
On Friday, the leaders of the SPD, Greens and FDP wrapped up exploratory coalition talks and agreed to proceed further, subject to approval by each of the parties' senior officials.
Preliminary talks focused on energy transition
An exploratory paper presented Friday described how the three parties were committed to climate protection to bring Germany toward the goals of the 2015 Paris climate accord.
In addition, Germany's phaseout of coal, currently envisaged by 2038 at the latest, should "ideally" be brought forward to 2030, said the paper.
While all three parties have already come out in favor of formal talks to form a coalition, Sunday's meeting saw Green Party delegates officially approve the move.
FDP to seek party approval next week
The Social Democrats formally approved the step on Friday, while the FDP leadership is set to do so on Monday.
The would-be alliance is described as the "traffic light" coalition — the colors of the three parties' logos.
The SPD is currently in a grand coalition with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative bloc, but has said it would prefer a new alliance with the Greens and FDP, rather than maintain the status quo.
Merkel decided not to run for chancellor again after 16 years in power.
A German government needs a 50% majority in parliament, but no one party can get so much voter support. So they agree on coalitions — and the next government will be no exception. Here is an overview of the options.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/F. Hörhager
Deciphering the color code
The center-right Christian Democrat CDU and its Bavarian sister party CSU are symbolized by the color black. The center-left Social Democrat SPD is red, as is the socialist Left Party. The neoliberal Free Democrats' (FDP) color is yellow. And the Greens are self-explanatory. German media often refer to color combinations and national flags, using them as shorthand for political coalitions.
Image: Fotolia/photocrew
Black, red, green — the Kenya coalition
A coalition of center-right Christian Democrats (black) and center-left Social Democrats (red) plus the Green Party would secure a comfortable majority. Such a coalition has been in power in the state of Brandenburg. On a federal level this would be a first.
Image: Fotolia/aaastocks
Black, yellow and green — the Jamaica coalition
The center-right Christian Democrats have often teamed up with the much smaller pro-free market Free Democrats (FDP) at the state and the national level over the years. Taking in the Greens to form a three-way coalition would be an option attractive to many in the CDU. But the Greens and the FDP do not make easy bedfellows, and a similar attempt failed after the last election in 2017.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/dpaweb
Black, red, yellow — the Germany coalition
The center-right CDU and the center-left SPD plus the business-focused FDP. This combination would easily clear the 50% threshold in parliament, and would be the preferred option for business leaders and high-income earners. But if the SPD takes the lead we'd see red, black, yellow — a less conservative option.
Image: imago images/Waldmüller
Red, red, green
The Social Democrats teaming up with the Greens and the Left Party is a specter the conservatives like to raise whenever they perform badly in the polls. But the SPD and Left Party have a difficult history. And the Left's extreme foreign policy positions would likley hamper negotiations.
Image: Imago/C. Ohde
Red, yellow, green — a 'traffic light' coalition
The free-market-oriented liberal FDP has in the past generally ruled out federal coalitions sandwiched between the Social Democrats and the Greens. But this year, the FDP has not ruled out any options. Germany's traditional kingmaker party may above all be keen to return to power — no matter in which color combination.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/J.Büttner
Black and red, red and black — the 'grand coalition'
A "grand coalition" of CDU and SPD, the "big tent parties," has been in power for the past eight years with the conservatives taking the lead. If the election results allow it, this combination may continue in government ... with the stronger party naming the chancellor.
