Despite the loud migration chaos of the past week, Green Chancellor candidate Robert Habeck is now making an offer to his competitors Friedrich Merz (CDU) and Olaf Scholz (SPD). For the transition period after the federal election on February 23, he is proposing a pact to his two opponents, as “we might be heading into a possibly difficult, longer phase of government formation” Habeck told the “Focus”.
The Green politician wants, first, “for Ukraine to continue receiving the support it needs”. Second, he suggests, “we should support the EU’s closed and resolute stance towards the new US administration, particularly in trade matters, without any reservations”. Third, he proposes, “we should remove the network charges from the electricity costs and thus quickly relieve the economy and households”.
At the same time, he warned the CDU against coercion tactics: “The crucial point was: How can one negotiate if the threat persists: ‘If you don’t follow us, we’ll just vote with the AfD’?” Everyone must “be clear: Such behavior can make a government of the center after the federal election very difficult or impossible” Habeck added.
“Absence of alternatives, as practiced by Markus Söder or Christian Lindner, could, under certain circumstances, mean that in the end, only a coalition with the AfD would be possible” Habeck warned, without assessing whether this is “strategic foolishness or a political will”.