BERLIN: The German Social Democratic Party (SPD) on Saturday gave the green light for its first coalition government with the Greens and pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) at federal level, under incoming chancellor Olaf Scholz.
At a party conference, more than 98 per cent of delegates voted in favour of the coalition agreement with the Greens and the FDP, in a result met with long applause.
"We now have the chance: a new dawn can take place for Germany," Scholz stressed, announcing a government "that tackles progress at a moment when it would be dangerous not to do so".
The decisions of the FDP and the Greens on the planned coalition are still pending.
In the vote, there were 598 votes in favour, seven against and three abstentions. The SPD gave the result as 98.84 per cent, without taking into account the abstentions.
The three-way constellation is referred to as the traffic-light coalition in Germany, named after the red, yellow and green colours that traditionally represent the parties.
The coalition deal promises action on climate change, a restructuring of the economy, and also improvements for low-income earners, tenant and families, for example.
The minimum wage is to rise to 12 euros (13.57 dollars), and 400,000new flats are to be built annually. "I am very proud of what we have negotiated together," emphasised SPD General Secretary LarsKling beil.
Party leader Norbert Walter-Borjans promised that the SPD would not merely act as a "government loudspeaker" and would also pursue thegoals that had not made it into the coalition agreement.
His co-chair Saskia Esken stressed: "With the traffic light, we are making history."
The vote of the SPD party conference alone is not enough to form the coalition: On Sunday, an FDP party conference will vote, and the Greens are currently polling their members. The result of that ballot is to be announced on Monday.
The coalition agreement could then be signed on Tuesday, and on Wednesday Olaf Scholz is expected to be elected chancellor in the Bundestag and his Cabinet sworn in.
Unlike the FDP and the Greens, the SPD has not yet announced who it will appoint as ministers.
What is clear is that, in addition to the chancellery, which conservative Angela Merkel is vacating after some 16 years in power,the SPD will take over the ministries of labour and social affairs,construction, health, interior, defence and economic development.
It is expected that the names of the ministers will not be announced until Monday - and that the SPD will nominate a majority of women.Scholz had promised that his Cabinet would have at least as many women as men.
Already during the coalition negotiations it had become clear that the SPD, Greens and FDP want to show a different style of government than the grand coalition of the conservative bloc and SPD.
"We are not concerned with a policy of the lowest common denominator,but with a policy of great impact," promised Scholz at the presentation of the coalition agreement.
He is already aiming for the alliance to last longer than one legislative period, that is longer than four years. "It will be possible to form a government that will work together amicably and be re-elected," he said.
Scholz has already been under heavy pressure in recent weeks because of the worsening coronavirus crisis.
Criticism has been levelled at the fact that neither the current and coalition nor its successor coalition felt responsible for taking decisive action against rapidly rising infection figures. On Saturday, Scholz defended the tougher coronavirus restrictions that have since been adopted, especially for the unvaccinated, and called for a boost in vaccinations. - dpa
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