It’s going to be painful, Merkel says of imminent coalition deal
ANGELA MERKEL yesterday said she was ready to make “painful compromises” in order to form a new coalition government, as late-night negotiations looked set to yield an agreement with Germany’s second-largest party.
The German chancellor is hoping to clinch a deal with the Social Democratic Party (SPD), so that she can end months of political uncertainty, save her political career and return stability to Europe’s largest economy.
“Each of us will have to make painful compromises and I am ready for that,” Mrs Merkel told reporters yesterday morning. “We live in turbulent times and what is expected of us as popular parties is that we form a government for the good of the people, one that brings stability,” she said.
The negotiations between Mrs Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU), the Christian Social Union (CSU), her Bavarian sister party, and the centre-left SPD, were expected to come to an end on Sunday evening. But despite some progress, the parties missed a series of self-imposed deadlines and it is now expected that a new coalition deal will be announced today.
The parties had allegedly put together a draft coalition document by yesterday evening. On Monday, they came to an agreement on the country’s future policy on Europe, Martin Schulz, the leader of the SPD, said. Posting on social media on Monday, he said that there would be “more investment, an investment budget for the eurozone and an end of forced austerity.”
The two parties have also agreed to invest in the building of new social and private homes by 2021, as well as to promote high-speed broadband expansion. However, the two main sticking points have been over labour rules and healthcare.
Mr Schulz said that it was finally “decision day”, as he headed into negotiations yesterday morning, adding that he had “good reason” to assume there would be a fruitful outcome between the parties. Julia Klöckner, the deputy leader of the CDU, told German broadcaster ARD on Monday that the negotiations were on the “final stretch”. It has
‘What is expected of us as popular parties is that we form a government for the good of the people’
now been four months since Germany’s federal election, which left Mrs Merkel with the largest share of the vote but without the majority needed to form a new government. Since then, she has struggled to reach an agreement with other parties to form a stable coalition government.
Even if the parties successfully reach a new coalition agreement today, they could face a further setback. The Federal Constitutional Court in Germany is currently examining whether the SPD party member vote, upon which it was decided to enter into talks with Mrs Merkel, was unconstitutional.
According to the Rheinische Post, the German newspaper, claimants say the membership vote goes against German Basic Law.
It is not clear when a decision on the case will be made.