By Thomas Escritt BERLIN (Reuters) - Olaf Scholz wants to wrap up the negotiations that should make him Germany s next chancellor by Christmas. Friday s agreement between his Social Democrats, the Greens and the Free Democrats on opening coalition talks are a big step towards that goal. But their barebones agreement, which includes commitments on climate change, not hiking taxes, simplifying immigration, the minimum wage and not imposing a motorway speed limit, leaves much to be thrashed out by specialist party working groups. Over the next two months, policy experts must fill in the many gaps left in the 12-page agreement they have reached. In 2018, the full coalition deal between Angela Merkel s conservatives and the SPD ran to 175 pages, and contained specific commitments on legislation the two parties would enact. A deal is not guaranteed, but a breakdown in talks would be a huge shock: in modern German history no would-be coalition parties have ever backed out after having agreed
(Reuters) -Here are highlights of Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam s annual policy address on Wednesday, the last in her current term, mapping out priorities for the former British colony that returned to Chinese rule in 1997. POLITICS - Hong Kong has got back on the right track of one country, two systems and governance has returned to normal under the protection of the National Security Law and the principle of patriots administering Hong Kong . - The city government will take forward proactively the enactment of local legislation to implement Article 23 of the Basic Law in Hong Kong. - Government will strengthen national security education and raise law-abiding and national security awareness of Hong Kong people, in particular the youth, through different activities and approaches. - Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK), as a public service broadcaster, should play an active role in promoting the Constitution and the Basic Law, and engendering a sense of citizenship and national identity. J
(Reuters) -Here are highlights of Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam s annual policy address on Wednesday, the last in her current term, mapping out priorities for the former British colony that returned to Chinese rule in 1997. POLITICS - Hong Kong has got back on the right track of one country, two systems and governance has returned to normal under the protection of the National Security Law and the principle of patriots administering Hong Kong . - The city government will take forward proactively the enactment of local legislation to implement Article 23 of the Basic Law in Hong Kong. - Government will strengthen national security education and raise law-abiding and national security awareness of Hong Kong people, in particular the youth, through different activities and approaches. - Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK), as a public service broadcaster, should play an active role in promoting the Constitution and the Basic Law, and engendering a sense of citizenship and national identity. J
By Michael Nienaber and Rene Wagner BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel has steered Germany through many crises over the past 16 years, but she has also left behind a mixed legacy and failed to tackle some deep structural problems in Europe s largest economy. Despite a golden decade of uninterrupted growth and budget surpluses, most economists agree Germany has neglected its public infrastructure and invested too little in digitisation. The Ifo institute forecasts the economy will grow by a stellar 5.1% in 2022, the strongest rate since the economic boom of the early 1990s following Germany s reunification. The unusually strong growth outlook is mainly due to the recovery and catch-up effects from the COVID-19 pandemic. But under the shiny surface, things look less bright. If Germany wants to avoid falling further behind over the next few years, the coming coalition government must tackle these three challenges: DIGITISATION Under Merkel s watch, Germany has fallen further behi
By Jason Hovet PRAGUE (Reuters) - The Czech government has ditched a long tradition of frugality over the last few years by piling tax cuts and wage hikes on top of pandemic spending, putting the country s debt on course to hit critical levels much faster than anyone expected. That leaves an unenviable challenge for whichever party wins this weekend s national election in the Czech Republic. The Czech Finance Ministry forecasts public debt will hit 43.5% of GDP this year, up from 30% in 2019, after two years of record budget deficits, and the International Monetary Fund estimates the country will have the second-fastest rising debt burden in the European Union by 2025. Wary of frightening away voters, all political parties have ruled out major tax hikes and shown no plans for other painful measures, but the next government faces a likely rude awakening and tough choices to find new revenue and cut spending. The (next) government will have to come up with immediate savings, and there mu