Overview
- The delegations set up a main negotiating team and five working groups covering economy and energy, education and research, interior and justice, health and culture, and transport and housing.
- SPD General Secretary Kurt Fischer expressed confidence in reaching compromises and described the CDU as a reliable partner.
- Public procurement rules are a flashpoint, with the SPD pushing mandatory tariff compliance and a €15 minimum for public contracts that the CDU opposes as an obligation.
- The SPD aims to conclude talks before a 14 March party convention, and CDU leader Jan Redmann considers the timetable achievable.
- AfD and BSW continue to call for new elections, and an Insa poll for Nordkurier found roughly two-thirds support for a fresh vote.