Despite the problems in the traffic light coalition, FDP deputy Wolfgang Kubicki sees no longing among the liberals for an alliance with the Union. "I don't know anyone in the FDP who currently wants black-yellow back," he told the "Tagesspiegel" on Tuesday. The Greens are indeed "exhausting", but the Union is "unreliable and devious". It does not help that the FDP and the Union sometimes have similar views on economic policy.

"The idea of leaving the Union back at the helm after 16 years of inactivity sends a cold shiver down my spine," Kubicki said. "Do we really want to see Friedrich Merz or even Markus Söder in responsibility, who hugs trees in the morning to cut them down in the afternoon?" he asked with a view to CDU chief Merz and CSU chief Söder. The traffic light is a "successful coalition without a good alternative".

"I have a whole new Kevin Kühnert feeling"

There is a crunch between the traffic light partners SPD, Greens and FDP. In the coalition committee last week, they had agreed on a 16-page paper, which provides for the accelerated expansion of the motorways at 144 points, billions of investments in the rail network and a change in climate protection rules. Green politicians were dissatisfied with the results – especially with regard to climate protection.

In his own words, Kubicki sees a "new emotional rapprochement between the SPD and the FDP." When I came out of the Chamber on Friday, (Secretary General) Kevin Kühnert greeted me with a warmth... I have a whole new Kevin Kühnert feeling," he said.

After 32 years of parliamentary activity, he knows that agreements with the SPD are relatively difficult to achieve. "But once they stand, they stand. There is no subsequent shaking of the formulations, as is often the case with the Greens and above all the Union." Overall, the Free Democrats could not complain about Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD).