The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Collapse of coalition talks a blow to Merkel
New election likely as German politics fall into turmoil.
BERLIN — The sudden collapse of talks to form a coalition government left German politics in turmoil Monday, as Chancellor Angela Merkel reckoned with one of the worst crises of her 12-year tenure and signaled that a new election is likely.
The unexpected failure triggered a flurry of activity in the normally predictable world of German politics, putting financial markets on edge, setting off speculation over a new election and upping the volume on previously whispered conversations about how much longer Merkel can last.
Following a midday meeting with the chancellor, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier attempted to calm the choppy waters with a speech in which he called on parties to come back to the negotiating table and avoid another vote after an inconclusive September election.
“The responsibility given to the parties remains,” said Steinmeier, noting that Monday’s impasse was unprecedented in Germany’s postwar history. “One can’t just return that responsibility to the voters.”
But despite his plea, a fresh vote looked increasingly likely — a fact that Merkel herself acknowledged Monday evening in an interview with broadcaster ZDF.
While Merkel insisted she would not step down, she also suggested that calling a new election would be preferable to leading a government that must survive vote-to-vote without a majority in the German parliament, the Bundestag.
Her comments indicated that without a change of heart from the center-left Social Democrats, who have resisted joining a new coalition, Germany is probably headed for a new election.
The possibility was met with enthusiasm by the German far right and with apprehension across Europe, where German stability has long been taken for granted.
“After Brexit and Trump, Germans are now facing the prospect of something out of the ordinary happening in their own country,” said Sudha David-Wilp, deputy director of the Berlin office of the German Marshall Fund. “Something that was beyond their borders is a spectacle that they will now have to deal with, too.”
The breakdown of the talks ends the assumption that Europe’s largest economy will be governed by a previously untried coalition among Merkel’s conservatives, the pro-business Free Democrats and the environmentalist Greens.
That awkward alliance was considered the only viable path to a stable government.
But after weeks of contentious negotiations over asylum, tax and environmental policies, the Free Democrats unexpectedly pulled out late Sunday, leaving Merkel with few options — none of them attractive.