Europe in Suspense: The German Coalition Thriller Continues

The grand coalition which had governed Germany for four years suffered serious losses in the parliamentary election of 24 September 2017. Finally, almost five long months later, a new grand coalition seems to be in the making, though its fate still depends on the result of an SPD membership ballot to be announced on 4 March. This is an outcome nobody really wanted, neither the voters nor the coalition partners. Yet, after the formation of a ‘Jamaica Coalition’ with Christian Democrats, Greens and Liberals failed, the only other option were new elections, something even less wanted by anyone, apart from the new, flourishing right-wing Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) and possibly the regenerated liberal Party FDP who blew up the Jamaica negotiations. While for Germany a new edition of the grand coalition, i.e. a coalition of the losers of the 2017 election, might mean more of the same and could lead to more frustration among the voters and a growth of right-wing populism, what does it mean for a European Union, so badly in need of strong, courageous leadership and a clear vision? Is the achieved coalition agreement really good news for Europe, as many opinion leaders seem to think? Can the ‘French-German motor’, a driving force behind European progress in former times, or even the ‘Weimar Triangle’ - as mentioned in the coalition agreement - be revived? Is that what other Member States really want? Or is it rather what they fear? What will be the impact of the ‘Schulz factor’? The former president of the European Parliament, designated to be the new Minister of Foreign Affairs who prematurely already had announced a ‘new dawn for Europe’, had to abandon his political ambitions on Carnival Friday. After he had categorically ruled out a new grand coalition before the election, for many party members his key position in the new government was unacceptable. Will Schultz’s atonement be enough to appease the social democratic rank and file, allowing a broad approval of the coalition agreement? Can Merkel contain the discontent among the Christian Democrats? Might there even be new elections in case everything collapses? Will a new German government be stable enough to play a leading role in Europe? Or will Macron have to drag Europe out of the mire all by himself?
 
Date                 Wednesday, 28 February 2018

Time                12:30 – 14:00 (light lunch 12:00-12:30)
 
Location        Hotel Leopold
                         Rue du Luxembourg 35,
                         1050 Brussels

Speakers        Adam Balcer, Foreign Policy Project Manager WiseEurope, Warsaw
                         Reinhard Bütikofer, Member of the European Parliament,
                                                              Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance
                         Judy Dempsey, nonresident senior fellow at Carnegie Europe and
                                                    editor in chief of the Strategic Europe blog
                         Anne Gellinek, Head ZDF Studio Brussels

Moderator     Klaus Linsenmeier, Director Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung European Union
 

No admittance without confirmed registration. E-Mail registration only. Please send the attached reply form to: marianne.ebertowski@eu.boell.org

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