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Germany hit by political crisis as talks founder
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GErman efforts to form a three-way coalition government have failed, Chancellor Angela Merkel said yesterday, pitching Germany into its worst political crisis for decades.
That has raised the prospect of new elections and cast doubt over Merkel’s future.
The pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) withdrew from talks after more than four weeks of negotiations with Merkel’s conservative bloc and the environmentalist Greens, saying there was not enough common ground.
With German leadership viewed as crucial for a European Union that is grappling with governance reform and Britain’s impending exit, FDP leader Christian Lindner’s announcement that it was pulling out spooked investors and sent the euro falling.
Merkel said she would stay on as acting chancellor and consult President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on how to move forward. A deal had been within reach, she said.
Yesterday, the Social Democrats (SPD) stuck to their pledge — made after losses in the election in September — not to rejoin a Merkel-led “grand coalition” of center-left and center-right parties. That made new elections the most likely option.
Steinmeier, who is meant to play a non-partisan role above the cut-and-thrust of party politics, was due to give a statement yesterday.
“It is a day of deep reflection on how to go forward in Germany,” Merkel said. “As chancellor, I will do everything to ensure that this country is well managed in the difficult weeks to come.”
The failure of coalition talks is unprecedented in Germany’s post-war history, and was likened by newsmagazine Der Spiegel to the shock election of U.S. President Donald Trump or Britain’s referendum vote to leave the EU — moments when countries cast aside reputations for stability built over decades.
The collapse of the parties’ talks came as a surprise since the main sticking points — immigration and climate change policy — were not seen as the FDP’s signature issues.
Green politician Michael Kellner accused Lindner of “bad theatrics,” one of many who suggested that the liberal, pro-business party had never been serious about negotiating.
“It is better not to rule than to rule the wrong way. Goodbye!” Lindner said in announcing the FDP’s withdrawal in the small hours, blaming the breakdown on a lack of progress on education and tax policy — issues that had been viewed as less contentious.
Political commentator Max Steinbeis called Lindner Germany’s Boris Johnson, comparing him to the British foreign minister and Brexit campaigner who is widely viewed as a dangerous and heedless loose cannon by Germany’s political class.
Germany’s options
Germany now faces unappealing options not experienced in its post-war era: Merkel forms a minority government, or the president calls a new election if no government is formed.
The main parties fear that another election so soon after the last would enable Alternative for Germany (AfD), a far-right, anti-immigrant party, to add to the 13 percent of votes it secured in September, when AfD entered parliament for the first time. Polls suggest repeat elections would return a similarly fragmented parliament.
The SPD, which came second in the election on September 24, said yesterday and that voters should be given a say.
“We are not afraid of repeat elections. In such a situation, the voters must reassess what is going on,” said SPD leader Martin Schulz, adding that a minority government was not a practical option in Germany.
Schulz said he would meet Steinmeier and that Merkel had yet to contact him.
Some still believe that the SPD could change its mind, perhaps under pressure from Steinmeier, a former SPD foreign minister who served under Merkel.
Others felt the FDP could yet be prevailed upon to return to the negotiating table. The price for either party to change its mind could be the departure of Merkel, who for 12 years has been a symbol of German stability, leading Europe through the eurozone crisis.
Greens leader Kathrin Goering-Eckardt said she expected fresh elections.
Merkel was weakened by the election in September as voters — angry with her decision in 2015 to open the borders to more than a million asylum seekers — punished her party by voting for the AfD.
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