Germany's Social Democrats (SPD) and Greens agreed yesterday to a timetable and agenda for coalition negotiations that will start today and last at least two weeks.
The Social Democrat leader, Mr Gerhard Schroder, hopes to be elected chancellor by the Bundestag on October 27th, if special conferences of both parties approve a coalition deal.
The negotiations promise to be tough, with the two parties holding divergent positions on such issues as nuclear power, transport, energy prices and defence.
"Getting clarity on the issues is more important than speed," said Mr Rudolf Scharping, the SPD parliamentary leader.
The timetable means that a meeting of EU heads of government in Brussels on October 23rd will be the last international appearance of Dr Helmut Kohl as German Chancellor.
The SPD and Greens agree on many policies, including the setting up of an "alliance for jobs" involving employers and trade unions and the urgent need to change Germany's citizenship laws. Personal relations between the leadership of the two parties are good but both sides must be careful to ensure that any deal is acceptable to their party rank and file.
This is especially true of the Greens, who have a decentralised power structure that makes the leadership vulnerable to grassroots revolts.
The parties insist that they will not start allocating ministries until a programme for government has been agreed. But jockeying for position has already begun and a number of senior posts appear to have been filled already.
The Greens are demanding four cabinet posts but the SPD insists that two ministries are enough for the junior partner in government. Both sides probably accept that the final figure will be three, with the Greens' parliamentary leader, Mr Joschka Fischer, as foreign minister and vice-chancellor.
Another senior Green, Mr Jurgen Trittin, is expected to become environment minister, leaving only one post available for a woman member of the party. This could create trouble among grassroots Greens, for whom equal representation for women is an article of faith.
Some Social Democrats are unhappy that Mr Fischer is heading for the foreign ministry, a post they would have liked to keep for themselves. The party's foreign affairs spokesman, Mr Gunther Verheugen, may be given the defence ministry as a consolation prize but Mr Scharping, who also has foreign policy expertise, is expected to remain in his present post as parliamentary leader.
The SPD chairman, Mr Oskar Lafontaine, is almost certain to become Finance Minister, a crucial position for the man many observers believe to be the power behind Mr Schroder's throne. Mr Lafontaine has a firm grip on the party, which remains suspicious of Mr Schroder despite his popularity among voters.
Mr Lafontaine is also a more formidable thinker than the chancellor-elect and he has ambitious plans for regulating the markets both in Germany and at an international level.
His appointment to the finance ministry would signal a sharp change in Germany's monetary policy which has until now been based on the orthodoxy that currency and price stability are the paramount goals.
Mr Lafontaine believes interest rates should be used to boost job creation and he has already called for a cut in German rates.
Mr Schroder repeated this week that the computer entrepreneur, Mr Jost Stollmann, will be a member of his cabinet. But it is not yet clear if the business-friendly Mr Stollmann will occupy the powerful economics ministry.
Germany is also likely to have its first culture minister in the new government, with the New York-based publisher, Mr Michael Naumann, as the man tipped to occupy the post.
