Olaf Scholz’s “traffic-light” coalition is taking shape

ONE THINGSPDFDP seemed clear during Germany’s topsy-turvy election campaign. Whatever the result, the negotiations required to form the first government of the post-Angela Merkel era would be complex, difficult and extremely long. A fragmented electorate was likely to force Germany into its first three-way coalition since the 1950s, binding together parties previously united only by distrust and disagreement. Mrs Merkel, mused some, would have to don one of her famous coloured blazers for one last New Year’s speech as chancellor, as the coalition talks ground into January.The election result was indeed messy. Yet less than a month later matters have progressed more smoothly than anyone dared hope. The Social Democrats (), who won a narrow victory over Mrs Merkel’s conservative Christian Democratic bloc, are discussing a “traffic-light” coalition (the name comes from the parties’ colours). with the Greens and Free Democrats (), a pro-business outfit. The parties’ negotiators spent a week huddled in a Berlin exhibition hall thrashing out their differences. So far, they appear to have got along swimmingly.