German coalition talks enter crunch stage

berlin — German Social Democrats sounded downbeat about their coalition talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives on Wednesday, a day before both camps decide whether they want to move to formal negotiations on establishing a new government.

Merkel, weakened by an election setback in September, turned to the left-leaning Social Democrats (SPD) to seek a re-run of their so-called “grand coalition” after the collapse in November of talks on a three-way coalition untested at national level.

The chancellor, who has won widespread respect abroad in more than 12 years in power, needs the coalition talks to succeed in order to avoid her personal authority being further undermined and Germany’s international standing diminished.

The Social Democrats know this, and are playing hard ball.

“The mood is like the weather,” Ralf Stegner, one of the SPD’s deputy leaders, said as he gazed at the cloudy sky above Berlin ahead of Wednesday’s talks.

SPD leader Martin Schulz added: “It will be a long day.”

As Europe’s largest economy and pre-eminent power broker, Germany is crucial to the region’s fortunes. Berlin’s partners are eagerly awaiting a new German government to help drive forward Brexit talks, euro zone reform and EU diplomatic initiatives.

Senior officials from the SPD, Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), have been holding exploratory talks this week on whether to pursue formal coalition negotiations.

The talks are due to conclude on Thursday, before SPD leaders recommend to their members whether they should shift into official negotiations. —