SPD, Greens and FDP to enter exploratory coalition talks in Germany

German election winner the Social Democrats (SPD), the Green Party and the pro-business FDP have decided to enter joint talks to sound out a common base to form the next government coalition. After a series of bilateral talks between parties which could form a coalition over the past days, the Greens’ leadership proposed to enter three-way exploratory talks. Should these succeed, then representatives from all partners could enter official coalition negotiations to hammer out an agreement that is likely to have a large focus on climate and energy transition policy.

It now looks increasingly likely that outgoing chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative CDU/CSU alliance will not be part of the next government. However, both Greens and FDP said that a coalition with conservatives, a so-called 'Jamaica' coalition, could still be in the cards if the talks with the SPD fail – which according to FDP head Christian Lindner will start tomorrow (7 October). “There will be no parallel talks” with the conservatives, said Lindner. CSU leader Markus Söder called the decision of the Greens and FDP to hold three-way talks with the SPD a "de facto rejection of Jamaica," reported Spiegel. Söder spoke of a "clear preliminary decision".

Germany is heading towards a three-party federal government with a significant climate action focus as the Social Democrats scored a thin victory, the Greens reached their best result ever while the long-ruling conservatives slumped to their worst result in the federal elections. Coalition talks could last for months and the current government under chancellor Angela Merkel would be asked to continue to carry out its duties until then.