Germany reaches agreement on new government, no one is completely satisfied

BERLIN, (Patria) - In initial reactions to the reached coalition agreement, German commentators describe German Chancellor Angela Merkel as a big political loser in the coalition negotiations between her conservatives and the Social Democrats, believing she paid a high price to remain in the chancellery.

- Self-destruction. The German Chancellor retained only the chancellery. But her party (Christian Democratic Union CDU) lost political power - concludes a commentator from the mass-circulation Bild in the first reaction to the presentation of the coalition agreement, warning that this is Angela Merkel's last term.

Internal party criticism mostly relates to the loss of the important finance ministry, which will henceforth be in the hands of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD).

- No one understands why we gave up this ministry - said Wolfgang Bosbach, one of the prominent CDU politicians, for the public service SWR, as reported by Hina.

Merkel also had to defend the loss of the important finance ministry, previously led by Wolfgang Schaeuble and which had become a symbol of the austerity policy advocated by Germany within the European Union, at the press conference presenting the coalition agreement on Wednesday.

- The negotiations on ministries were difficult, but the ministry of economy is again in our hands - explained Merkel.

The German Chancellor stated during the negotiations, which began ten days ago, that it was a process of "renunciation".

Analysts assess that Merkel and her CDU were forced into concessions to the Social Democrats, who, through a painstaking internal party process, eventually agreed to enter coalition negotiations.

The decisive factor is that in the coming days, the SPD membership will vote on whether to agree to enter a coalition with the Christian Democrats. It is estimated that many concessions to Social Democratic demands were necessary to persuade the SPD base to give the green light.

The outcome of this vote remains uncertain, as at the special congress, the SPD base approved entering coalition negotiations with only 56 percent, with the open option to reject these negotiations if not satisfied with the result.

SPD leader Martin Schulz therefore spoke during the presentation of the agreement about a "visible Social Democratic tone" coloring the agreement.

Critics believe that Merkel also lost control of important European policy by placing both key portfolios, the ministries of foreign affairs and finance, in Social Democratic hands.

It is expected that Martin Schulz, who spent almost his entire political career in positions within the European Union, ultimately as President of the European Parliament, will, as foreign minister of the new government, together with French President Emmanuel Macron, take over the process of reforming the European Union initiated by the French president.

Criticism of Merkel also comes from the important business wing of the CDU, which sharply criticizes the coalition agreement, describing it as a "catastrophic document".

- This coalition agreement does not breathe a spirit of the future. There will be much discussion about it within the CDU - states a statement from the CDU's business wing.

Celebration at the expense of the CDU, as media comment, also echoes from the ranks of the CSU, which received the important interior ministry, traditionally held by the CDU in recent years.

CSU leader and Bavarian Premier Horst Seehofer, known as the fiercest critic of Angela Merkel's liberal migration policy, will take over this important ministry and responsibility for the sensitive issue of migrants, on which the CSU, among parties to the right of center within Germany, holds, as Huffington Post Germany notes, the most radical positions.

This position would help the CSU, which faces local elections in Bavaria in the autumn, to profile itself as a party that cares for internal order and strict migration policy, thus winning back voters who massively switched to the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) in the parliamentary elections in September.

But the SPD also faces turbulent times. According to the latest information, Martin Schulz handed over the position of party chairman in the evening hours to the chairwoman of the Social Democratic parliamentary group, Andrea Nahles, just a few months after being elected to that position.

It is believed that this decision is also related to the SPD base's vote on the coalition agreement and as a kind of concession to parts of the party who believe that Schulz should not have led the party towards a new edition of the grand coalition.