Merkel’s coalition in doubt as SPD rebellion grows

Chancellor’s partner party faces growing internal opposition over deal to form new government

AN AGREEMENT that paves the way for Angela Merkel to form a new coalition government in Germany has been cast into doubt by a growing rebellion within the Social Democrat Party (SPD). Mrs Merkel, the German chancellor, and Martin Schulz, the SPD leader, sealed a deal on Friday after 24-hour talks to open formal negotiations on renewing their coalition. But the agreement has to be approved by a special SPD party congress this Sunday, and there are signs of growing opposition within the party, which suffered heavy losses in September’s elections.

“There was a clear vote against both coalition partners,” Michael Müller, the SPD mayor of Berlin, told Tagesspiegel newspaper. “The same coalition with the same policy is not a good enough answer to this.”

If the SPD votes against joining a coalition, it will leave Mrs Merkel facing the prospect of new elections or trying to form a minority government.

Her agreement with Mr Schulz has already failed its first test, after the SPD regional association in Saxony-anhalt voted to oppose a new coalition this weekend. The small state only sends seven delegates to the SPD congress out of a total of 600, but the decision has sent jitters through the party and its leadership is scurrying to shore up support.

Mr Schulz initially ruled out renewing the coalition with Mrs Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) after September’s election results. But he changed his mind in the face of open rebellion from MPS after Mrs Merkel’s talks with smaller parties collapsed late last year.

So far, there has only been significant opposition to a new coalition within the Jusos, the SPD youth wing. But influential party figures are beginning to speak out and accuse Mr Schulz’s leadership of failing to win enough concessions from Mrs Merkel in last week’s talks.

Mr Müller said Mr Schulz failed to deliver on manifesto promises to raise taxes for the rich and reform the German health insurance system.

Malu Dreyer, the regional prime minister of Rhineland-palatinate, has said CDU plans to cap immigration are “very difficult”, while Michael Groschek, the leader of the SPD’S biggest regional association in North Rhinewestphalia, whose votes could be decisive at next week’s congress, said there was still “a lot of scepticism” about a new coalition with Mrs Merkel.

The SPD leadership has deployed its big guns to make the case for a new coalition. Sigmar Gabriel, the foreign minister, has been sent to the regional associations to urge them to back the deal. Manuela Schwesig, the regional prime minister of Mecklenburg-west Pomerania, said: “The people are relying on us to form a government after all this time.”