"Misfortunes never come singly" could push Germany's "traffic light" government to the brink of collapse

On November 4, German Vice Chancellor and Minister of Economy and Climate Robert Habeck warned that the current coalition government could collapse at the “worst moment.”

From left to right: German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck, Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Finance Minister Christian Lindner. (Source: DPA)

According to DW , in the statement, German Vice Chancellor Habeck admitted that the country's government is facing difficulties and is shaken due to internal conflicts between the three parties in the ruling coalition, including the Social Democratic Party (SPD) of Prime Minister Olaf Scholz, the Green Party of Mr. Habeck and the Free Democratic Party (FDP) of Finance Minister Christian Lindner.

Give up or save what you can? This is the choice facing the centre-left government of the three-party coalition, known as the “traffic light” coalition, which has been in power in Germany for nearly three years.

“This is the worst possible time” for the government to collapse, given what is happening in Ukraine and the economic situation in Germany, Mr Habeck warned.

Vice Chancellor Habeck's remarks came after talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Finance Minister Christian Lindner on the crisis within the ruling coalition.

Leaders of the three-party coalition have been arguing for weeks about how to revive Europe's powerhouse economy, which is stagnant and expected to shrink for a second straight year.

While the SPD advocates fair wages and increased social benefits, the Greens' top priority is climate and environmental issues, while the FDP is calling for pro-business policies and less red tape.

Vice Chancellor Habeck recently proposed a multi-billion-euro plan to support German businesses, but faced opposition from Finance Minister Lindner, who noted that public spending needed to be controlled.

Mr Lindner also called for an end to the “solidarity tax”, introduced in 1991, which was originally used to finance the costs of German reunification, as well as to enable Berlin to meet its ambitious climate targets.

Chancellor Scholz has asked his coalition partners to be ready to compromise and focus on reviving the German economy.

According to the plan, by mid-November, all three parties must complete the important task of reaching a consensus on the budget for 2025. Mr. Habeck expressed optimism that although resolving budget disagreements is not a small challenge, the parties can overcome it.

In recent weeks, Mr. Lindner has also repeatedly warned that difficult negotiations within the ruling coalition could lead to earlier-than-expected elections (September 28, 2025).

German Minister of Economy and Climate Habeck issued the above warning in the context of Chancellor Scholz facing domestic political instability, the European Union's (EU) largest economy falling into recession and the complicated world situation.

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