Germany struggles out of crisis after govt talks collapse
Berlin: Germany’s president was to start a difficult round of talks with party leaders in a last-ditch attempt to save the EU’s top economy from the political turmoil sparked by the collapse of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition talks.
Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who takes centrestage because he can call snap elections, is expected to use his diplomatic skills as a twotime former foreign minister to persuade reluctant party chiefs to return to the negotiating table.
The head of state, who spoke with Merkel on Monday, planned to meet with the left-leaning Greens at his Berlin Bellevue Castle and then with the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP), the party which pulled the pin on month-long coalition talks on Monday.
Its shock decision to withdraw from a potential three-way alliance has thrown the government of caretaker Merkel into chaos, leaving her with only bad choices: wooing reluctant coalition partners back to the table, running a minority government, or facing new elections.
“Germans are not natural fans of instability, minority governments or immediate repeat elections, to put it mildly,” said Berenberg Bank chief economist Holger Schmieding on the unprecedented situation in German post-war politics.
New parliament speaker Wolfgang Schaeuble, the former finance minister, opened the legislature by reminding all parties of their promise to voters to deliver a stable government, but also conceded that no-one could be forced to join a government they don’t want.
As Germany’s usually staid and consensus-driven politics enter uncharted territory, Schaeuble, aged 75 and its longest-serving MP, stressed that it faces “a trial, not a crisis of state”.
He underlined that its EU neigh- bours “need a Germany that is capable of action”. In Brussels, the European Commission made clear that “Europe will not pause during this period”.
Germany now faces weeks, if not months, of paralysis with a lameduck government that is unlikely to take bold policy action at home or on the European stage, as the EU faces issues from Brexit to ambitious French reforms plans for the bloc.