Anton Hofreiter, a senior Green Party politician, said on the Berlin Playbook podcast: “The United States is already in a major crisis, and all parties involved have to work together to move Europe’s largest and most powerful country. I hope it doesn’t lead to chaos.” .
But the fate of the government rests primarily with the FDP, the coalition’s smallest party, which observers say is the party most likely to leave. The FDP’s approval rating currently stands at just 4%, below the threshold needed to win the German parliament in the next federal election scheduled for September, and its leaders are seeking to protect their political future. We are considering dissolving the coalition.
Finance Minister and FDP leader Christian Lindner recently penned a policy document, leaked to the media last week, calling for tax cuts and scaling back on climate policy to stimulate economic growth, both positions at odds with the party. It is something. his coalition partner. FDP leaders have already insisted that the US election should not be a deciding factor in coalition government deliberations.
“If we continue like this without taking decisive action on the economy and other areas, we don’t need a government with the FDP involved,” Michael Link, an FDP lawmaker and the government’s transatlantic coordinator, said in Berlin. “The idea that we’re going to sit back and be careful just because Trump got elected is basically just going to keep going. I’m sorry, but that’s not the solution. It’s going to make the whole thing worse.”
The negotiations will center on parliament’s adoption of the 2025 budget, in which it will be necessary to close a shortfall of at least 2.4 billion euros, and potentially much more, as well as to revive the country’s struggling economy. It also includes an agreement on measures to be taken.
Trump’s victory is expected to further increase pressure on Europe’s largest economy. An analysis by the German Institute for Economic Research (IW) estimates that a new trade war could cost Germany 180 billion euros over Trump’s four years in office.
