Incoming German Gov't Vows To Strengthen Businesses

The three-way coalition set to assume power under incoming chancellor Olaf Scholz has vowed to prioritize the environmental and digital sectors while maintaining traditional German economic strengths, Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) reported.

Photo Insert: Incoming German Chancellor Olaf Scholz

The leaders of the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), the environmentalist Green Party, and the business-friendly Free Democrats (FDP) have agreed on a three-way coalition that will form the next German government and see the SPD’s Scholz replace Angela Merkel (CDU) as German chancellor.

The coalition agreement, which is entitled “Daring More Progress” and was presented to the public on November 24 in Berlin, follows intense negotiations after the German national election on September 26. The agreement aims to reinforce Germany’s leading economic role in the world and further incentivize climate protection and digitalization.

“More than anything the new government promises stability and a high degree of continuity, embodied in the fact that with Olaf Scholz, Germany’s new chancellor will be its former finance minister,” says Germany Trade & Invest (GTAI) CEO Robert Hermann.

“But the presence in the government of two new parties will intensify certain priorities.”

The coalition agreement foresees an annual 50 billion-euro increase in investments in climate protection, digitalization, and education. It creates a superministry for both economic affairs and climate. And it highlights environmental topics such as Germany’s transition to clean energy sources, an accelerated phase-out of coal as a power source, the promotion of hydrogen as a renewable energy carrier, and increased support for electric mobility.

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