Jamaica coalition

Jamaica coalition (German: "Jamaika-Koalition"; also known as the Jamaica alliance, Jamaica traffic light, black traffic light or Schwampel) is a term in German politics, where it describes a potential coalition among the parties of the Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU), Free Democratic Party (FDP), and the Green Party.

The term refers to an association between the symbolic colors of the parties in such a coalition — black for the CDU/CSU; yellow for the FDP; and green for the Green Party — and the colors of the flag of Jamaica.

After the German federal election in 2005, this coalition became mathematically possible and was initially discussed. Because of significant differences between the platforms of the Greens and the other parties, its plausibility was up for debate. FDP leaders had stated that they would rather remain in opposition than form a coalition with the SPD or the Greens; outgoing Green leader Joschka Fischer dismissed the possibility as well, saying, "Can you really see Angela Merkel and Edmund Stoiber sitting round the table in dreadlocks? This is more our style. It's impossible". [http://www.guardian.co.uk/germany/article/0,2763,1573905,00.html] On October 10, 2005, officials indicated that negotiations between the SPD and CDU/CSU had been successful and a Grand Coalition would be formed, in which Merkel would be Chancellor but the SPD would have the majority of posts in the government. The Green party was not included, which shelves the idea of a Jamaica coalition for the time being.

Black traffic light

The expression "Black traffic light" (German: "Schwarze Ampel" or the portmanteau word "Schwampel") refers to the classic traffic light coalition, an alliance between the SPD (red), FDP (yellow), and the Greens, together whose symbolic colors match the colors of most German traffic lights. In a black traffic light, the CDU's color black would replace the SPD's red. This coalition has already governed at the state level in Brandenburg and Bremen. The first known appearance of the short form "Schwampel" was in the die tageszeitung newspaper (Bremen edition) on October 4, 1991.

Usage of "Jamaica Coalition" in English

The Jamaica Coalition on the Rights of the Child (JCRC) [http://www.moh.gov.jm/Books_launch.htm] is a UNICEF sponsored program in Jamaica for protection of children's rights.

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