Nora Back was still ready to grill the Prime Minister, employers were up in arms about additional burdens, and the Prime Minister didn't actually want a tripartite meeting at all. And suddenly, everyone is sitting at the same table, signing an agreement and praising the spirit of compromise. If that is not a miracle.
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There we go, it is possible after all.
Just as the Germans still rave about the Miracle of Bern to this day, here, we could be talking about the Miracle of Senningen in a few years' time. Granted, the comparison is flawed: No football was played, nor was a World Cup title won. But considering what has been going on the past few months, the outcome of the tripartite meeting indeed borders on a minor political miracle.
The sabres were rattled for months. The government, trade unions, and employers fought out a public show of strength as if the end of the world were nigh, and OGBL President Nora Back even loudly announced on May Day that she wanted to grill the Prime Minister.
And then?
Barely three days of negotiations were all it took for white smoke to billow out of Senningen Castle. Everyone shook hands, smiled for the cameras, and assured one another of just how constructive and responsible the talks had been this time around.
Who would have thought that?
Probably least of all Luc Frieden himself.
The very head of government who, until a few weeks ago, wanted to avoid a tripartite meeting as far as possible, and was only prepared to take this step at all under pressure from the liberal coalition partner DP, can now present himself as the architect of a social partnership compromise.
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