New German Government Signs Deal

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

(Worthy News) – The leaders of the Social Democrats, Greens, and the Free Democrats who pledged to phase-out coal and legalize soft drugs have signed their three-party coalition deal.

The ceremony in Berlin of the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), the Green Party, and the neoliberal Free Democrats (FDP) came ahead of a significant power shift in Europe’s largest economy: Incoming German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, is due to be elected and sworn in as Angela Merkel’s successor on Wednesday.

The 63-year-old will oversee a government that views “climate protection” as a big part of “Germany’s transition” to a “green economy.”

The parties already confirmed they plan to phase out coal use by 2030, eight years ahead of schedule, though it wasn’t clear how they would concretely make up for the shortfall.

They seek to use a whopping two percent of German territory for wind power and focus on hydrogen-based energy.

By 2030, the parties want 80 percent of electricity to be sourced from “renewable energy” and 15 million electric cars to be on German roads.

USING CANNABIS

While pressuring traditional motorists to change their ways, the new team also seeks to make it easier for Germans to buy and use cannabis.

Germans will soon be able to purchase the drugs in licensed premises, “with controls on the quality and distribution of the drug.”
The move would disappoint coffee shop owners in neighboring liberal Netherlands, where many Germans traveled to buy soft drugs legally.

Commentators were quick to say that this is “the moment the post-Merkel Era begins for real.”

However, the new government will also inherit significant challenges left behind by Merkel, who ruled this country of 82 million for some 16 years.

The government will face questions over how to handle migration and, more urgently, its relationship with Russia amid Western fears Moscow could invade Ukraine.

Germany and Russia have major energy agreements with Moscow, including Nord Stream 2, a system of offshore natural gas pipelines running under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany.

It is believed that more military tensions could add to pressure on Germany to rethink its relations with Russia.

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