9 minutes agoGermany close to forming new government, Merkel in talks with left
Periskopi(9 years ago)
(9 years ago)The rise of the far-right AfD party in Germany has effectively shifted the political centre in the opposite direction. The result is that the Chancellor is now seeking leftist parties for potential allies. Earlier this year, with the extreme populist alternative to Germany ( AfD was coming out of a series of triumphs [...]
Earlier this year, with the extreme populist alternative to Germany ( AfD was coming out of a series of regional election triumphs, most observers expected Angela Merkel to become more conservative.
Some within its parliamentary bloc really wanted her to do just that. But the opposite has happened, reports the “Deutsche Welle”, broadcast Periscopi.
It was part of the wisdom accepted in Germany over the past 30 years that the natural allies of the conservatives were the Free Democratic Party (FDP), which has been supported by conservatives as a coalition partner since the early 1980s, but has been in a coalition with the SPD before that.
But last Sunday, when the FDP went out of coalition talks with the CSU-CSU and the Green, it showed that this is no longer necessarily random.
In justifying that decision, The FDP complained that conservatives and Turkey were very gloomy during the negotiations. But the FDP's rebellion has pushed Merkel and her party into the arms of another potential partner on the left.
Merkel spoke of another “major coalition” between conservatives and Social Democrats as an option in the evening after the September 24th national elections.
The leader of SPD's leftist party, Martin Schulz, has now been forced to give up the harsh stance he had earlier not to enter the coalition with Merkel's party. Along with Merkel and the chairman of the small Bosnian CDU party, CSU, the SPD chairman, will meet with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier next week.
Although cautious, the SPD is open again to test Merkel's option.
“We continue to consider the Grand Coalition a difficult conspiracy,” said Deputy Prime Minister Malu Dreyer of the SPD in Berlin on Friday. “But the SPD will not refuse to engage in the talks. All options must be investigated, including between a major coalition and early elections. ”
A continuation of the grand coalition would suit Merkel well after she has led two such alliances in the past 12 years. Conservators and Social Democrats are united by pragmatism, modification and their mutual desire for stability.
But talks with the SPD are not the only way for a satisfactory outcome for Merkel conservatives.. /Periscopi/
