dpa
(TNS)
Berlin (dpa) — The approximately 358,000 members of Germany’s Social Democratic Party (SPD) can begin voting on the coalition agreement with the conservatives starting on Tuesday.
An online platform is set to be activated at 8 am (0600 GMT) where the Social Democrats can cast their votes until 11:59 pm on April 29. The result is expected to be announced on April 30.
For the acceptance of the coalition agreement, not only a majority of votes is required but also a participation of at least 20% of the members in the purely digital vote.
With the minimum wage of €15 ($17.04) or the tax reduction for low and middle incomes, the SPD has managed to push through some of its campaign promises in the coalition negotiations.
However, the planned tightening of migration and social policy is controversial.
The leadership of the party’s youth wing, which comprises about 12 per cent of the party members, has rejected the agreement for this reason.
The coalition agreement between the SPD and the conservative bloc made up of the Christian Democrats (CDU) and the Bavaria-only Christian Social Union (CSU) must be approved by all three parties.
The CSU board has already accepted the 144-page coalition agreement titled “Responsibility for Germany.”
The CDU plans to vote on it at a small party conference on April 28.
If everything goes smoothly, CDU leader Friedrich Merz is expected to be elected chancellor in the lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, on May 6.
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