By Thomas Escritt

BERLIN (Reuters) – Whether the Social Democrats’ Olaf Scholz or a conservative becomes the next German chancellor, they will probably need to bring into their coalition two smaller parties that are far apart on many of the issues that will shape Germany’s future.

A majority of votes will be won by the Greens, which are led by Annalena Bock (a former athlete) and Robert Habeck (a novelist). The Free Democrats, who are business friendly and led by Christian Lindner, is expected to find areas for agreement.

Baerbock joked that Christian Lindner and she are the same age and Robert Habeck is the other man when asked about seemingly insignificant areas of agreement.

Although her progressive environmentalists may be further apart than Lindner’s libertarians from either the Social Democrats of the Conservatives, they have some common ground, particularly on foreign and social policy.

CLIMATE CHANGE

The Greens want to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions within 20 years through “a massive expansion offensive for renewables”. FDP wants Germany climate neutrality before 2050. Conservatives and the SPD can delay this until 2045.

Greens want to establish a speed limit for Germany’s motorways that are ‘no limits. This idea is rejected by the FDP. They also differ on the question of whether or not combustion-powered vehicles should be banned.

HOW TO BALANCE BOOKS

FDP wants to lower taxes for all – which the IW Institute estimates will run 60 billion euros (70.3 billion). This would amount almost 20% of federal tax revenues. Greens propose to reduce the tax threshold to pay the highest rate at 45%, and introduce an ultra-high income bracket of 48%. To encourage public investment, they also plan to change the debt brake.

While the conservative CDU/CSU bloc would prefer gradual tax cuts to the Social Democrats (SPD), they want to support those with small or medium incomes, and raise taxes for the top 5 percent.

HOW ABOUT EUROPE

FDP, along with conservatives reject a “debt Union” and wants to make sure that the EU’s joint borrowing for the coronavirus recovery program of the 27-nation bloc remains an ad-hoc one-off.

Greens support a European common fiscal policy that supports investment in infrastructure, education, and research.

SPD sees the recovery package in Europe as a foundation for building trust and has discussed steps toward establishing a fiscal Union.

AND THE WORLD.

FDP and the Greens are less concerned about China than conservatives or the SPD. They agree that Chinese companies should not be involved in building Germany’s next generation telecoms networks to protect their security.

Greens oppose the Nord Stream 2 project, which is Kremlin-backed and would increase Germany’s dependence upon Russian gas. FDP are less ambitious than SPD but more skeptical.

LONELY STANDS

In some areas the Greens are a lonely minority: alone among the four parties that could enter government, they oppose increasing German military spending to NATO’s target of 2% of economic output.

The FDP remains the only party in other areas. These parties will raise the minimum wage hourly to €12 ($14). FDP claims this is not an issue for government.

THE ANTI-FAX ALLIANCE

Both Greens and FDP are strongly in favour of investment to improve digital infrastructure. These parties are part of a youthful voter base that has become increasingly disillusioned by Germany’s fax-bound, phone-bound public service.

A broad consensus could help to smooth over sharp differences among the parties in their fiscal policies.

HAPPY EVER AFTER!

Tomorrow, both the FDP and Greens would legalize cannabis sales. The SPD would also be legalizing it. A 16-year-old could vote.

The three major parties are willing to accept dual citizenship. This would make a significant difference for ethnic Turks who have lived in Germany, paid taxes and worked there for many decades.

FDP and Greens both would allow civil servants wearing religious headscarves to work. Both the SPD and conservatives wouldn’t.

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