Merkel’s last hope for coalition hit by coup
ANGELA MERKEL faced fresh complications in her efforts to put together a coalition government in Germany last night as a power struggle broke out for control of her sister party in Bavaria.
Horst Seehofer, one of Mrs Merkel’s strongest allies in coalition talks, was confronted with an attempted coup by his Christian Social Union (CSU) rivals.
Mrs Merkel is set for talks in Berlin today with Martin Schulz, leader of the Social Democrats (SPD), as she tries to negotiate a new coalition. Mr Seehofer will also be at the talks, but his authority to negotiate on behalf of his party will be damaged by events in Munich.
Mrs Merkel was already facing a frosty start to the negotiations, with the SPD furious after a senior minister in her caretaker government gave German approval for the EU to approve a controversial pesticide without consulting cabinet colleagues. Mrs Merkel, who said she knew nothing about the decision in advance, censured Christian Schmidt, her agriculture minister, but stopped short of sacking him.
“The chancellor’s loss of authority is clear and harms trust and cooperation within the government,” Carsten Schneider, a senior SPD MP said. “This sort of chaos is totally unacceptable in the EU’S biggest country.”
Some form of deal with the SPD is Mrs Merkel’s last chance to avoid new elections after talks with smaller parties collapsed earlier this month. She will also need the continued support of her Bavarian allies if she is to command a majority in parliament.
Mr Seehofer moved from being an outspoken critic of Mrs Merkel’s refugee policy to one of her firmest allies in recent weeks. However, Markus Söder, the man most likely to supplant him, is more lukewarm in his support.
A group of senior MPS in the Bavarian parliament want to topple Mr Seehofer as prime minister and to replace him with Mr Söder. While Mr Seehofer might be able to retain overall leadership, his position would be weakened. The rebel MPS want a vote on Monday. While it would not be binding, defeat could force for Mr Seehofer to resign.
Mr Söder was playing his cards close to his chest yesterday. “We have a vote next week. Let’s see how it turns out,” he said.