German government talks collapse; Merkel seeks to reassure

[Calista241]

Source: Washington Post

German Chancellor Angela Merkel pledged early Monday to maintain stability after the Free Democratic Party pulled out of talks on forming a new government with her conservative bloc and the left-leaning Greens, raising the possibility of new elections.

Merkel told reporters that the parties had been close to reaching a consensus on how to proceed with formal coalition talks but that the Free Democrats decided abruptly to pull out just before midnight Sunday — a move she said she respected, but found “regrettable.”

She said she would consult with Germany’s president later in the day to brief him on the negotiations and discuss what comes next.

Without bringing the Free Democrats back to the table, Merkel will be forced to try to continue her current governing coalition with the Social Democrats, although that center-left party has said it will not do so, or she could try to form a minority government, which was seen as unlikely. Otherwise Germany will have to hold new elections.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/german-government-talks-collapse-merkel-seeks-to-reassure/2017/11/19/1a0e22c6-cd8d-11e7-a87b-47f14b73162a_story.html?utm_term=.c677299aabc2

[tazkcmo]

1. PM Merkel

Regardless of her political positions, she has always impressed me with her level-headedness, professionalism and leadership. Remember when we had one of those?

[Not Ruth]

2. Is there a downside to new elections?

[nycbos]

3. AfD can gain more

[Not Ruth]

4. Or less

[nycbos]

5. True.

But the rise of the far right around the world has me losing faith in humanity.

[Raine1967]

6. This is Problematic.

Free Democrat leader Christian Lindner told reporters that his party decided to withdraw rather than further compromise its principles and sign on to policies the party was not convinced of.

“It is better not to govern, than to govern falsely,” he said.

Is this super right nationalist party?

[Dawson Leery]

7. He is a Libertarian.

He is moving to the far right on all matters. It is pure opportunism to get an advantage in the next election.

The Social Democrats are being led by an impragmatic leader.

The SDU needs to form a government with the CDU. Do not let the far right get any advantage.

[DFW]

9. The SPD are being led by an egoistic drunk

He was a disgraceful mess on election night, when all party heads were in a TV roundtable. The ultimate never-done-anything-productive bureaucrat, Schultz spent his air time blasting Merkel for just about everything except her hairdo--after leading his party to their worst result ever. The logical result of that, of course, would have been to solidify his party's position in the coalition. Instead he whined about how he was pulling out of it, leading to the current mess, although with a better FDP leader than Lindner, the coalition of CDU, FDP and Greens would already be a done deal, and there wouldn't be a mess.

[Dawson Leery]

11. Agree about Linder.

He is in it for himself.

[Dawson Leery]

8. kick

[muriel_volestrangler]

10. Coalition talks: Germany's Angela Merkel prefers fresh elections over minority government

German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced on Monday that she was ready to take her Christian Democratic (CDU) party into fresh elections after coalition talks with the Green party and pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) failed over the weekend.

"I'm very skeptical," about leading a minority government, Merkel told public broadcaster ZDF. The center-right politician said that she was ready to lead Germany for four more years, but that she felt a majority government was necessary for stability in Germany and Europe.

Merkel's statement does not necessarily mean Germany is headed for snap elections. First, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will approach other parties to see if a last-ditch coalition can be cobbled together.

Several hours ahead of Merkel's comments, President Steinmeier appeared to rule out snap elections for now, instead emphasizing the obligation each party had to the voters. to reconsider whether they might not be able to create a working majority.

http://www.dw.com/en/coalition-talks-germanys-angela-merkel-prefers-fresh-elections-over-minority-government/a-41454523

[DFW]

12. Merkel, as usual, has done her homework

The only reason the FDP crossed the 5% hurdle is because of defecting CDU voters. In new elections, they wouldn't make the same mistake again after Lindner's stunt. Even a few regional FDP heads says they are baffled as to what Lindner is up to.

By the way, the stock of RWE, the electric power utility that wants to keep burning cheap (but very dirty) brown coal, has gone up markedly in the past few days. I'll bet Lindner's secret retirement fund did too.

[Dawson Leery]

13. May this be correct.

Unless the left has a resurgence, the CDU is going to need more votes.

[DFW]

14. If new elections are held

I think the FDP sinks like a stone, the SPD and "Linken" stay static, and the Greens end up the big winners, with Merkel benefiting too. It's not a sure thing, but the next government could well end up being a CDU/CSU-Greens coalition. They have a lot more in common than the FDP realized. They are willing to compromise on economic and refugee issues and have much more in common on environmental issues now that Merkel is committed to eliminating nuclear power and boosting renewables. They are willing to work with each other where the FDP was not. Half of the FDP prominence is already coming out saying "WTF was our leadership thinking?" Of course, the SPD was saying the same thing after the election, but they haven't sent Schultz packing yet, much as he deserves it. With a little luck, the AfD will lose a point or two, and give the impression (who cares until the next election if it's real?) that they have already peaked.