Merkel’s future in doubt as ‘coalition’ remains divided

Parties’ opposing views on immigration and the environment threaten to force new elections

ANGELA MERKEL was last night facing make-or-break coalition talks which could decide her future as chancellor of Germany. Negotiations were expected to last late into the night as Mrs Merkel tries to form a new government following damaging losses in September’s election.

With the parties still deeply divided hours ahead of a deadline this morning, Mrs Merkel’s political future has been questioned for the first time.

If the talks cannot reach agreement, Germany could face new elections and Mrs Merkel could face a challenge to her leadership from within her own party. The world’s most powerful woman looked tired as she headed into the talks in Berlin, but told reporters: “We can do this. This is a difficult, complicated task, but the will is there. It is vitally important for our country. We have a great responsibility.”

Mrs Merkel is trying to form a new multi-party government with the probusiness Free Democrats (FDP) and the Green Party after losing her former coalition partner in September’s elections. But the potential partners hold opposing views on key issues ranging from migrants to the environment, with talks deadlocked for weeks.

The parties have agreed to a self-imposed deadline this morning to decide whether they can work together. If they can reach a deal on the most contentious issues, they will proceed to formal coalition negotiations.

If not, Mrs Merkel will face a scramble to head off the threat of new elections, in which her Christian Democrat party (CDU) fears it could suffer further losses to the nationalist Alternative for Germany party (AFD).

She was said to be planning one-onone talks with other party leaders last night in a bid to hammer out a deal.

Senior negotiators struck a note of pessimism yesterday, with Wolfgang Kubicki, the FDP deputy leader, talking of a “hurricane” hanging over the talks.

“I don’t know if we can iron out all our differences,” Joachim Herrmann of Mrs Merkel’s Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU) said. But in a sign of progress, a draft agreement was leaked yesterday evening, in which the parties said they had “found enough common ground” to recommend opening coalition negotiations. There were unconfirmed reports of an agreement on tax cuts, one of the issues that had been dividing the parties.

Immigration remains a stumbling block. Mrs Merkel has agreed to an upper limit of 200,000 asylum seekers being allowed into Germany each year. The Greens oppose an upper limit, while the CSU says it will not join a coalition without one.

Seasoned observers, however, believe the hardline positions adopted by the parties are posturing, and that the fear of new elections will force them into an agreement.