Blow to Merkel as coalition talks fail
■ Only option now is forming a minority govt, or snap polls
Berlin, Nov. 20: Efforts to form a three- way coalition government have failed, a tired- looking Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday, pitching Germany into its worse political crisis for decades, raising the prospect of new elections and casting doubt over her future.
Ms Merkel said she would stay on as acting Chancellor and consult President Frank- Walter Steinmeier on how to move forward.
The pro- business Free Democrats ( FDP) withdrew from talks after more than four weeks of fruitless negotiations with Ms Merkel’s conservative bloc and the environmentalist Greens, saying there was not enough common ground. FDP leader Christian Lindner said there was “no basis of trust” between them, and added that it was “better not to govern than to govern badly. Goodbye!”
With German leadership seen as crucial for a European Union grappling with governance reform and Britain’s impending exit, the announcement spooked investors and sent the euro falling.
President Steinmeier said Germany was facing an unprecedented situation and called on German political leaders to reconsider their positions.
Germany now faces unappealing options not experienced in Germany’s post- World War II era: Ms 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 would let the farright, anti- immigrant Alternative for Germany ( AfD) party add to the 13 percent of votes it secured in September, when it entered Parliament for the first time.
◗ Prez Steinmeier said Germany was facing an unprecedented situation and called on German political leaders to reconsider their positions
Germany.
Voicing regret for the FDP’s decision, Merkel vowed to steer Germany through the crisis.
“As chancellor... I will do everything to ensure that this country comes out well through this difficult time,” she said. News magazine Der
Spiegel called the breakdown in negotiations a “catastrophe” for Ms Merkel and said Germany, long seen as an island of stability, was having its “Brexit moment, its Trump moment”.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who has sought Merkel’s backing for an ambitious EU reform plan, expressed concern about Germany’s political deadlock, saying “it is not in our interest that the situation becomes tense”.
The euro fell on the news, but Germany’s blue- chip DAX remained largely firm, losing just 0.47 percent in early trade.
The acrimonious negotiations stumbled on a series of issues including immigration.
Ms Merkel let in more than one million asylum seekers since 2015, sparking a backlash that allowed the far- right AfD party to win its first seats in Parliament.
Its parliamentary coleader Alexander Gauland relished the collapse of the talks, saying that Ms Merkel had “failed” and that his party “looks forward to potential new elections” in which it stands to make strong gains.
The negotiating parties also differed on environmental issues, with the Greens wanting to phase out dirty coal and combustionengine cars, while the conservatives and FDP emphasised the need to protect industry and jobs.
The Greens angrily deplored the collapse of talks, saying they had believed a deal could be done despite the differences and accusing the FDP of negotiating in bad faith.
Mr Lindner, who had taken a harder line on refugees as the talks progressed, “opted for his kind of populist agitation instead of political responsibility”, Greens Europe minister Reinhard Buetikofer tweeted.