SPD REBELLION COULD SHATTER MERKEL COALITION

A growing rebellion within the Social Democrat Party (SPD) has thrown into doubt an agreement that paves the way for Angela Merkel to form a new coalition government in Germany.

Merkel, the chancellor, and Martin Schulz, the SPD leader, sealed a deal on Friday after 24-hour talks to open formal negotiations on renewing their coalition.

The deal must be approved by a special SPD party congress next Sunday, and there are signs of opposition within the party, which suffered heavy losses in September’s elections. “There was a clear vote against both coalition partners,” said Michael Muller, the SPD mayor of Berlin.