Social Democrats (SPD) vote for formal coalition negotiations; Germany giving up climate target “fake news” – SPD head Schulz

At their special congress held on 21 January, 56 percent of SPD delegates voted to enter formal negotiations to renew Germany’s grand coalition government with Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative CDU/CSU block, reports Reuters. SPD leaders vowed to improve on the coalition blueprint the three parties had agreed on 12 January. “We will negotiate until the other side squeals,” the party’s parliamentary leader, Andrea Nahles, said at the congress. In a press statement after the SPD vote, Merkel said that “the blueprint from the exploratory talks is the framework in which we will negotiate, and there are still many questions to clear up in detail and that will require intensive talks.” The parties’ leaders will meet on 22 January to discuss the negotiation schedule for the coming weeks, and SPD party members will vote on an eventual coalition deal that may emerge “likely in March,” writes the SPD in a press release.

Addressing the party congress, SPD head  Martin Schulz dismissed as "fake news” reports that the possible future coalition would be prepared to scrap the country’s 2020 climate target. “Of course, we do not give up on the climate targets. Quite the opposite: we will have a climate protection law in Germany for the first time,” said Schulz.

Read the Reuters article in English here, the CDU release in German here, and the SPD release in German here.