‘ Coalition talks must happen soon’

Wolfgang Schaeuble calls on Merkel party to quickly form government A stable alliance between the Union and the SPD would be preferable. It would work one way or another Wolfgang Schaeuble,

Berlin, Dec. 31: Former German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble urged Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives and Social Democrats on Saturday to quickly form a new government, but said he could not rule out a minority government if no deal is reached.

Germany’s Constitution does not favour a minority government but that remains an option, Mr Schaeuble, a leading conservative who is now president of the Bundestag ( lower house of Parliament), told Berlin’s Tagesspiegel newspaper.

A deal between Ms Merkel’s conservative camp ( Union) and the centreleft Social Democrats ( SPD) is her best chance of securing a fourth term in office. But Ms Merkel’s possible coalition partners are angling for concessions beforehand.

“A stable alliance between the Union and the SPD would be preferable,” Mr Schaeuble said, adding that the chancellor could still form a minority government. “It would work one way or another,” he said when asked about that possibility.

—

President of Bundestag

Coalition talks should be completed “sooner rather than later,” he said, noting that the Bundestag was not fully capable of action until a government had been formed.

He noted that President Frank- Walter Steinmeier — who stepped in after Ms Merkel’s talks with two smaller parties collapsed in November — had urged conservatives and the SPD to reach an agreement as soon as possible, and said Ms Merkel and other

politicians had supported that call.

Horst Seehofer, head of the CSU Bavarian sister party of Ms Merkel’s conservatives, told DPA news agency a new “grand coalition” should be completed by Easter, which falls on April 1 in 2018.

Mr Seehofer said he favoured new elections over a minority government.