Germany's social democrats set the dual citizenship issue as the key point to coalition talks, while the union parties try to avoid it. Chairman of Social Democratic Party (SDP) Siegmar Gabriel said the dual citizenship and raising the minimum wage to 8.5 euro per hour were their preconditions for coalition talks. Gabriel also expressed determination over the issue, as he promised not to hand any agreements to his party before solving the dual citizenship issue. Last week, Cem Ozdemir, co-chairman of the Green Party, told journalists, "during our preliminary coalition talks, Christian Union (CDU/CSU) has promised a change in dual citizenship policy. Today, CDU/CSU is making dual-citizenship issue again a matter of discussion in their coalition talks with the Social Democrats. This is inconceivable." The union's deputy chairman of parliamentary group Gunter Krings said it was hard to compromise over dual citizenship since they had not encountered any strong arguements from SDP.
According to a regulation dated 2000, German residents of Turkish origin are allowed to hold their dual citizenship only until the age of 23, when they have to chose either, otherwise facing expatriation.