Germany's coalition crisis: Tensions threaten early election
The situation within the German government coalition of the SPD, the Greens, and the FDP is becoming increasingly tense. Will it survive until the next elections? German newspapers see little chance of that. "No country wants to be governed in this manner. The current state of affairs can be explained by the fact that the three alpha males in the coalition are now merely playing to see who loses their temper first," writes the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung".
"Better to have new elections in the spring than endure almost another year in such a state. Future coalition partners should urgently learn from the failures of the SPD, the Greens, and the FDP," states the "Süddeutsche Zeitung". It adds: "There is hope that this government will end at the latest in three weeks".
Christian Lindner, the finance minister and FDP leader, has given two interviews that essentially serve as divorce petitions. "When the FDP leader accuses the vice-chancellor from the Greens of 'conceptual helplessness' on television, complains that the chancellor from the SPD did not consult him about his new proposals, and also hints that perhaps 'everyone will have to put their cards on the table', what could this be other than preparing the public for the fact that the coalition is no longer able to function? – writes the opinion-forming newspaper from Munich.
"Of course, in principle, it is not good when a government falls prematurely, especially in its first term. It indicates that the politicians who formed it did not live up to their task or were unable to control themselves, especially since such a failure is not a sudden event but a result of public deficiency. ‘All these numerous disputes’ – as one of the chancellor's statements highlights – have made many Germans tired of politics. The quarrels have deprived the country's economy of any direction. This state of affairs would persist for another year if the government continued to exist," we read.
Why does the coalition still exist?
According to the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung": "The coalition remains solely so that its 'partners' can blame each other for not adhering to the coalition agreement. Robert Habeck takes the initiative on the repeatedly presented German Fund issue, knowing it strikes at the FDP. Olaf Scholz takes the initiative on the 'industrial summit' in the Chancellery, which promises nothing new, aside from the fact that the FDP calls for a competing summit, which also will not yield anything new," it reads.
"Such (...) provocations are part of the game for the government and opposition, but at least in the responsibility that the government coalition has taken upon itself. No country wants to be governed in such a manner. The current state of affairs can be explained by the fact that the three alpha males in the coalition are now only playing to see who loses their temper first," it concludes.
