German Greens signal flexibility in coalition talks
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Leaders of Germany's Greens may drop demands for a 2030 deadline to phase out combustion engines and shut coal-fired power stations as Chancellor Angela Merkel's government-building efforts intensify.
Merkel's conservatives, the pro-business Free Democrats and the Greens want to determine by mid-November whether there's enough common ground for full coalition negotiations. They struggled to bridge differences during initial talks.
Greens co-leader Cem Ozdemir signaled in an interview with the daily Stuttgarter Zeitung published Tuesday that his party will soften its much-criticized demand to stop registering new cars with gas and diesel engines in 2030. He acknowledged the Greens alone can't push it through.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The party also wants to switch off coal-fired electricity plants by 2030, but chairwoman Simone Peter told the Rheinische Post daily it is "pragmatic" on that issue.