Given the numerous points of contention within the coalition, the SPD is calling upon Chancellor Friedrich Merz of the CDU and the Union to exercise restraint. Dirk Wiese, the SPD parliamentary manager, told the “Rheinische Post”: “I advise our coalition partner, extending right into the Chancellery, to maintain composure and a cool head.”
Wiese added that changes or further coordination are required on various topics. He acknowledged that the shifts currently being made were understandable. He insisted that squabbling over policies demonstrates that they are important, not that the coalition is falling apart. According to Wiese, patience is the most likely path to success, arguing, “We are partners. And our common opponent, the far right, is on the right.”
Currently, the coalition is struggling over issues such as pension reform, during which the Union is increasing pressure on Minister for Labor, Bärbel Bas (SPD). Tax reform could also become another source of friction. Furthermore, there is a dispute regarding a sugar tax, while the issue of care was initially postponed.
