BERLIN (Reuters) - The premier of Germany s most populous region warned that the Green party would have to step back from some of its environmentalist red lines if it wanted to join a mooted three-party coalition led by conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel. Armin Laschet, premier of the industrial heartland state of North Rhine-Westphalia, said in an interview with Handelsblatt newspaper that his and Merkel s Christian Democrats (CDU) would not do a coalition deal at any price. Earlier, Christian Lindner, leader of the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP), the likely third coalition partner, had also said the Greens would need to sacrifice a commitment to environmentalist subsidies and accept tax cuts. With a  Jamaica coalition  of the conservatives (black), the FDP (yellow) and the Greens the most plausible coalition after last Sunday s national vote, the parties that enjoy the overwhelming support of Germany s business community rushed to hem in the leftist Greens with red lines.  A Jamaica coalition agreement must make clear that there will be no de-industrialization,  said Laschet, whose state is home to one of Germany s largest concentrations of heavy industry. The Greens  wish for fixed target dates for banning polluting combustion engines or coal-fired power stations would harm industry, he added. Lindner, whose party is popular among the family businesses traditionally seen as the backbone of the German economy, told mass-selling paper Bild am Sonntag that he would be happy to accept a tax-cutting Green as finance minister.  It would be fine to have a Green finance minister who cuts the tax burden on the middle classes,  said Lindner, seen as one of the leading candidates for the key finance job in a Jamaica coalition. The Greens voted on Saturday to start exploratory talks on a deal, indicating that they would like to see a softening of the FDP s tough line on immigration. Laschet said talks on a post-election three-way deal, the first in Germany since the 1950s, could last into next year, though he hoped for a deal before January. 
Pro-business parties try to hem German Greens in with red lines