Germany’s Social Democrats call for swift talks to form coalition gov't

BERLIN (AA) - Germany’s Social Democrats on Monday called on the Greens and the liberal Free Democrats to start three-way talks to form the country’s next coalition government.

The Social Democratic Party’s (SPD) secretary general Lars Klingbeil said Sunday’s bilateral discussions with both the Greens and the liberal FDP have been “very constructive” and they would like to move to three-way coalition talks.

“I would like to clearly state that the SPD is ready now to start three-way talks. We want a swift government building, we want to see Olaf Scholz as the chancellor,” he told public broadcaster ZDF.

He argued that election results showed voters want to see outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) in the opposition, not in the next coalition government.

The Social Democrats narrowly defeated the Christian Democrats in Sept. 26 elections but fell short of a majority in the parliament, and results showed the country may face months of negotiations between parties to form a government.

On Monday, top officials of the Greens and the Free Democrats said they have not yet taken a decision on starting three-way coalition talks with the Social Democrats.

Michael Kellner, secretary general of the Greens, said they had constructive discussions with the SPD and the Free Democrats, but no date has been set for a possible three-party meeting.

“We would like to first conclude our bilateral meetings,” he told ZDF television, pointing out that the Greens are scheduled to meet with the Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) on Tuesday.

He said after concluding all bilateral meetings, the Greens would hold an internal debate and discuss their next moves in the coalition talks.

The FDP’s Secretary General Volker Wissing also said that they would first wait for the outcome of Greens’ meeting with the CDU/CSU, before taking any decision.