The move brings Scholz a step closer to the chancellery after 16 years of Merkel’s centre-right-led government. Speaking to reporters, Laschet said the conservatives “respect the decision” by the two kingmaker parties to pursue a coalition with the SPD. ‘Building bridges’Green co-leader Annalena Baerbock said that after preliminary discussions with the SPD and CDU-CSU, the Greens “believe it makes sense” to focus on a tie-up led by the Social Democrats. The Greens and the FDP are not natural bedfellows, diverging on key issues including taxation, climate protection and public spending. Informal talks over the last few days revealed “more overlap” with the Social Democrats, he said, on issues like climate protection, social justice and European integration.

Source: The Local October 06, 2021 13:30 UTC