Coalition Agreement – WTF is going on?

The new coalition agreement between CDU, CSU and SPD, titled “Responsibility for Germany,” sets the stage for the next government. At over 140 pages, it lays out a roadmap for key areas like migration, social policy, taxation, and energy. But for many, especially younger people, it feels less like a step forward and more like a document out of sync with the times we’re actually living in.

Right now, there’s a widespread sense that bold action is needed: On climate, in education, in the way social systems function. But reading this agreement, the response often feels hesitant, even tired. The reaffirmation of the nuclear phase-out is important, yes, but putting so much emphasis on fusion research, something far from immediate solutions, makes it hard to see how urgent climate challenges will be met in the short term. Clear, ambitious plans for renewables or structural changes in energy use remain vague. Migration policy is one of the most unsettling aspects. Plans to enable deportations to countries like Syria and Afghanistan represent a shift that feels cold and calculated and difficult to reconcile with basic humanitarian principles.

The rollback of easier paths to citizenship sends a subtle but powerful message: that belonging, even for those who contribute, is becoming harder to claim. Education – arguably the foundation for any long-term change, receives little attention. There’s no serious plan for how schools or universities will be modernized to meet the needs of a digital, interconnected world. Nor is there meaningful mention of student mental health, despite how central this issue has become for a whole generation dealing with overlapping crises. The agreement also includes plans for a new form of voluntary military service. While it stops short of reintroducing compulsory conscription, the language suggests a desire to increase military engagement among young people. But in a time marked by war, uncertainty, and already high levels of anxiety, this raises complex questions: What role should the military play in civic life? And what does it mean to speak of “responsibility”. while asking young people to carry it in such literal and personal ways?

The title “Responsibility for Germany” suggests a serious commitment to stability. But real responsibility isn't just about protecting what already exists, it’s about asking how to build something better. It means listening to those who will inherit the consequences of today’s choices. It means recognizing that preserving systems is not enough if those systems are leaving people behind.

Responsibility also means being brave enough to change course when necessary. To admit when something isn’t working. And to imagine more than just what is manageable – to imagine what is meaningful.

This isn’t about rejecting every part of the agreement. There are ideas that deserve discussion and development. But it is about expecting more, more honesty, more clarity, more willingness to take risks for the right reasons. And above all, more space for those whose lives are shaped most directly by these policies to be part of the conversation.

The agreement is written. The approval process is underway. Whether it becomes something more than just another political compromise depends on what happens next in the public response, in civic spaces, in the voices that rise to question it, shape it, or push it further.

by Luisa Gabriel