Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)

German coalition shaken as Social Democrat leader quits

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BERLIN (DPA)- The surprise announceme­nt of Germany’s Social Democrats (SPD) leader Andrea Nahles that she is to resign as head of the centre-left party has prompted questions about the future of Berlin’s already shaky coalition government. Nahles said she would formally declare her resignatio­n as the SPD’S first female leader to senior party figures on Monday, after the party sustained heavy losses in last week’s EU elections.

“Discussion­s within the party parliament­ary group and feedback from the party have showed me that the support necessary for me to carry out my offices is no longer there,” Nahles said on Sunday, following a week of intense pressure after the EU elections delivered the party’s worstever nationwide result.

The SPD, which is the junior partner in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s grand coalition, garnered just 15.8 per cent of votes in the elections to the European Parliament, its worst-ever result in a nationwide poll.

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