Germany's incoming government unveils plans to legalize cannabis and phase out coal
(CNN)Three German political parties have sealed a deal for a new government, with left-leaning Olaf Scholz the proposed next chancellor following lengthy coalition negotiations and a historic election that sees Angela Merkel stepping down after 16 years at the helm.
The incoming government's vision for Germany includes plans to legalize cannabis. It also aims to phase-out coal by 2030 and have at least 15 million electric cars on the road by the same year. Mandatory Covid-19 vaccines would also be considered, amid soaring cases in the country.
Under the agreement announced in Berlin on Wednesday, Scholz, of the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), will head a three-party coalition with partners the Greens and pro-business Free Democrats. It follows a close September election and two months of negotiations to form a new government.
Scholz, joined by coalition partner leaders, told a news conference that the "traffic light government" is here, referring to the red, yellow and green colors of the respective parties. "We want to be daring when it comes to climate and industry," he said.
The deal -- which sets out the government's vision for its four-year term -- will now go to the wider party members for consideration. Barring any last-minute upsets, Scholz will be sworn in as chancellor early next month.
The new government's coalition parties are not traditional bedfellows. The pro-business Free Democrats is more usually aligned with the center-right, rather than the left-leaning SPD and Greens.
But on Wednesday Germany's three-party coalition government presented a smiling, united front to gathered reporters.
The prospective government spells the end of the Merkel era, and consigns her center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and sister party the Christian Social Union (CSU) into opposition after 16 years in power.
Incoming Chancellor Scholz will take over the helm of Europe's largest economy at a time of increasing diplomatic uncertainty in the European Union -- namely aggression from Russia and Belarus, and threats to the rule of law from Poland and Hungary.
As Germany emerges from its worst climate disaster of recent years -- devastating floods over the summer that killed 180 people -- the Greens will also play an important role in steering the country towards a coal-free future.
The new government plans to phase-out of coal by 2030 -- eight years earlier than Merkel's party's previous 2038 target. "Step by step, we are ending the fossil fuel era," the coalition agreement said, adding that it was ensuring measures to "bring Germany onto the 1.5-degree path" of global warming.
It also plans to introduce the controlled sale of cannabis "to adults for recreational purposes." Only licensed stores would sell the cannabis, "ensuring the protection of minors." The coalition will review the measure in four years.
Mandatory vaccinations to be considered
But chief among the hefty to-do list facing the incoming government is the acute Covid-19 wave gripping the country. Germany is battling surging cases that have pushed Europe back to the epicenter of the pandemic, prompting tough restrictions from neighboring countries and protests from lockdown-weary citizens across the bloc.
On Wednesday, Scholz told reporters that mandatory vaccinations will be considered by the new coalition because "vaccination is the way out of this pandemic."
Case numbers are particularly dire in Germany's eastern states where health officials have warned overstretched hospitals could soon run out of beds for intensive care patients.
While Germany has vaccinated around 80% of its adult population, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), it still trails behind southern European countries such as Spain and Portugal.
On Monday, Health Minister Jens Spahn didn't mince his words as he urged more people to get their shots. Spahn told a press conference in Berlin he was certain that by the end of this winter, everyone in Germany would be "vaccinated, recovered or dead," in relation to the Delta variant.
Diplomatic shifts
Meanwhile the migrant crisis on the Poland-Belarus border, which Western leaders have accused Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko of orchestrating with the support of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has intensified tensions with the European Union's volatile neighbor.
The crisis too has turned a sharper focus on Russia's influence in Europe -- not least the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which will bring gas from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea. German authorities last week paused the approval process for the pipeline amid issues with the company's operating license.
Elsewhere populist governments in Poland and Hungary continue to push the boundaries of EU membership by rolling back core democratic values. Recently, the EU's top court ruled Poland had violated the bloc's laws relating to judicial independence.
Scholz's predecessor Merkel made a name as the steady hand of EU diplomacy, variously steering the bloc through the European debt and migrant crisis. Whether the new chancellor will also step up to the role of EU leader -- or leave those shoes for another to fill -- remains to be seen.
Stephanie Halasz, Inke Kappeler and Chris Stern contributed to this report
德国即将上任的政府公布了大麻合法化和逐步淘汰煤炭的计划
（美国有线电视新闻网）三个德国政党已就新政府达成协议，左倾的奥拉夫·舒尔茨（Olaf Scholz）在经过漫长的联盟谈判和历史性的选举后，将成为下一任总理，安吉拉·默克尔在掌舵 16 年后卸任。
新政府对德国的愿景包括大麻合法化的计划。它还计划到 2030 年淘汰煤炭，并在同年至少有 1500 万辆电动汽车上路。在该国病例激增的情况下，也将考虑强制使用 Covid-19 疫苗。
根据周三在柏林宣布的协议，中左翼社会民主党 (SPD) 的 Scholz 将与绿党和亲商业的自由民主党合作，领导一个三党联盟。在此之前 9 月份的选举很接近，并经过两个月的谈判以组建新政府。
Scholz 与联盟伙伴领导人一起在新闻发布会上说，“红绿灯政府”在这里，指的是各方的红色、黄色和绿色。 “在气候和工业方面，我们希望大胆一些，”他说。
该协议——阐述了政府对其四年任期的愿景——现在将提交给更广泛的党员考虑。除非在最后一刻出现任何不满，否则舒尔茨将在下个月初宣誓就任总理。
新政府的联合政党不是传统的同床者。亲商业的自由民主党更常与中右翼结盟，而不是左倾的社民党和绿党。
但周三，德国三党联合政府向聚集的记者展示了一个微笑的统一战线。
未来的政府标志着默克尔时代的结束，并在执政 16 年后将她的中右翼基督教民主联盟 (CDU) 和姊妹党基督教社会联盟 (CSU) 委托给反对派。
在欧盟外交不确定性日益增加的时候，即将上任的财政大臣舒尔茨将接任欧洲最大经济体的掌舵人——即俄罗斯和白俄罗斯的侵略，以及波兰和匈牙利对法治的威胁。
随着德国摆脱近年来最严重的气候灾难——夏季造成 180 人死亡的毁灭性洪水——绿党也将在引导该国走向无煤未来方面发挥重要作用。
新政府计划到 2030 年逐步淘汰煤炭——比默克尔政党之前设定的 2038 年目标提前八年。 “一步一步，我们正在结束化石燃料时代，”联盟协议说，并补充说它正在确保采取措施“使德国走上全球变暖 1.5 度的道路”。
它还计划引入“出于娱乐目的的成年人”大麻的受控销售。只有获得许可的商店才会出售大麻，“确保对未成年人的保护”。联盟将在四年内审查该措施。
需要考虑强制接种疫苗
但在即将上任的政府面临的繁重任务清单中，最主要的是席卷全国的 Covid-19 浪潮。德国正在与激增的病例作斗争，这些病例已将欧洲推回大流行的中心，引发了邻国的严厉限制，以及整个集团内厌倦了封锁的公民的抗议。
周三，舒尔茨告诉记者，新联盟将考虑强制接种疫苗，因为“接种疫苗是摆脱这种流行病的出路”。
德国东部各州的病例数尤其可怕，那里的卫生官员警告说，人满为患的医院可能很快就会用光重症监护患者的床位。
根据欧洲疾病预防和控制中心 (ECDC) 的数据，尽管德国已为其约 80% 的成年人口接种了疫苗，但仍落后于西班牙和葡萄牙等南欧国家。
周一，卫生部长延斯·斯潘 (Jens Spahn) 毫不客气地敦促更多人接种疫苗。斯潘在柏林的一次新闻发布会上表示，他确信到今年冬天结束时，德国的每个人都会“接种疫苗、康复或死亡”，这与三角洲变种有关。
外交转变
与此同时，西方领导人指责白俄罗斯总统亚历山大·卢卡申科在俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京的支持下策划了波兰和白俄罗斯边境的移民危机，加剧了与欧盟这个动荡不安的邻国的紧张关系。
这场危机也使人们更加关注俄罗斯在欧洲的影响力——尤其是备受争议的北溪 2 号管道，该管道将把天然气从俄罗斯输送到波罗的海下的德国。由于该公司的经营许可证存在问题，德国当局上周暂停了该管道的审批程序。
在其他地方，波兰和匈牙利的民粹主义政府继续通过推翻核心民主价值观来扩大欧盟成员国的界限。 最近，欧盟最高法院裁定波兰违反了欧盟有关司法独立的法律。
舒尔茨的前任默克尔以稳定的欧盟外交之手而闻名，他以各种方式引导欧盟度过欧洲债务和移民危机。 新任总理是否也将加强欧盟领导人的角色——或者把这些鞋子留给另一个人来填补——还有待观察。
