German Green leader slams coalition deal as 'valium for Europe'
The German Greens have delivered a scathing assessment of the coalition deal announced by the conservative CDU/CSU bloc and the Social Democratic Party (SPD) on Wednesday.
Following the announcement, Felix Banaszak, one of the Green Party's leaders, said: "This farce that we have just seen does not do justice to the situation."
According to Banaszak, Germany and the world are facing three major problems: the climate crisis, the erosion of the rules-based order and the rise of right-wing extremism. Germany's future coalition partners have "not even the slightest response" to any of these crises, he said.
Instead, the coalition plans to soften climate targets, Banaszak stressed.
Banaszak's co-leader, Franziska Brantner, described the coalition agreement as "valium for Europe."
"It says nothing about how we want to make progress in European defence, how we want to be at the forefront of technology, how we want to strengthen our internal market," she said, adding that the agreement shows cowardice in the face of US President Donald Trump.
The Greens are part of the outgoing government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz and currently hold both the Foreign Ministry and the Environment Ministry.
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