Coalition Sets Priorities
August 22, 2007
Germany's shaky grand coalition presented a united front Tuesday after a late-night meeting to discuss the government's plan of action until the next general elections, currently scheduled for 2009.
Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel, who heads the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU), said she was extremely satisfied with the meeting. The coalition doesn't merely plan to soldier on until elections, but wants to have "good and successful cooperation," Merkel said Tuesday.
The reunion was attended by leaders of the CDU, its Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union (CSU) and center-left Social Democrats (SPD).
Minimum wage for postal workers
The CDU and SPD have expressed disagreement over a wide range of issues in recent months including counter-terrorism measures, family policy, tax reforms and calls for a minimum wage.
On Tuesday, the coalition agreed to institute a minimum wage for postal workers. The SPD has fought to get a general minimum wage while the CDU wants to see wage protections limited to approximately a dozen industrial sectors.
Deutsche Post, whose monopoly on letter delivery ends in 2008, had expressed concern that foreign companies would import labor at below-market wages. Deutsche Post has said that 32,000 postal jobs are endangered because many other countries have not opened their markets to competition.
The Afghanistan question
Another contentious issue between coalition members has been the German military's involvement in the Operation Enduring Freedom, part of the United States-led war on terror, and two other Bundeswehr mandates for operations in Afghanistan.
The Social Democrats will support extending the mandates for two of Germany's missions in Afghanistan. These include the some 3,000 soldiers that serve as part of a NATO-led peacekeeping effort in the north of the country. The second mandate call for six Tornado fighter jets and several hundred staff to operate and maintain them to be deployed to Afghanistan. The jets fly reconnaissance missions in Afghanistan. Both mandates expire in October.
But a third deployment is more controversial and the parties agreed to delay a vote on it to give the SPD more time to discuss the matter. It centers on German special forces who are involved in Operation Enduring Freedom campaign. Several parliamentarians have threatened to vote against extending the mandate due to an increasing number of civilian casualties and concerns about the way the program is run.
The issue will be discussed at the SPD party conference at the end of October, Vice Chancellor Franz Müntefering, a Social Democrat, said Tuesday in Berlin.
"There is an open and public discussion" among party members about Germany's role in Afghanistan, Müntefering said.
Fast train to Munich
It also seems that the German government will end its opposition to a high-speed Transrapid train planned for Munich. The project is expected to cost 1.85 billion euros ($2.5 billion.)
The high-speed magnetic levitation ("maglev") train project had been called into question after a crash on a test track last year killed 23 people and injured 10. The Transrapid line would connect the Bavarian capital with its airport, just under 40 kilometers (25 miles) away. It would reduce the travel time from 40 minutes to 10 minutes.
The world's only commercial Transrapid line operates in China between Shanghai and its airport. The German-designed Transrapid floats on a magnetic cushion instead of riding on tracks.
Leading politicians, after the meeting, said the talks were productive and that the coalition would survive the differences of opinion that occur within it.
"Differences of opinion are part of a democracy," said Edmund Stoiber, who heads the CSU. "The deciding factor is whether one moves closer on the important themes."