Top meeting postponed as Berlin government shows cracks

by Julia Dahm

A meeting between Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz, government members and the leadership of the coalition parties to resolve differences including climate, transport and budgetary issues that went into the night Sunday was paused Monday and postponed to Tuesday.

Among the contentious issues on the agenda is the highly controversial ban on new fossil heaters that will be proposed by Green Climate Minister Robert Habeck.

While the proposal has already been lambasted by Habeck’s liberal coalition partner, the business-friendly FPD, Habeck himself publicly speculated that a previous draft of the proposal was leaked to the press from within government ranks to gain a tactical advantage.

On transport infrastructure, the dividing line is between the Greens and the FDP, as the two parties have been caught in a stalemate for months on whether roads or rail should be given priority when it comes to new infrastructure projects.

Meanwhile, the 2023 budget is also on the agenda.

Earlier this month, Liberal Finance Minister Lindner paused consultations on the different ministries’ budgets to express his criticism of what he views as excessive demands for funding on the part of his colleagues.

*first published in: Euractiv.com