Potential partner’s key vote boosts Merkel’s bid to form coalition
BERLIN — Angela Merkel’s would-be partner in a new German government voted narrowly to continue talks with her center-right party on Sunday, meaning resolution could be within reach following four months of political gridlock.
The vote by a convention of the center-left Social Democrats, known by the acronym SPD, marked the clearing of a key hurdle in the creation of a governing coalition following inconclusive September elections. It came after party leaders faced down a vocal and energetic insurgency from members who wanted to abandon the talks.
Opponents of a deal say past agreements with Merkel have diluted the party’s identity and eroded its appeal, as was reflected in the SPD’s dismal 20 percent of the vote in September — its worst showing in postwar history.
Proponents argued that the party had little choice, with a breakdown in talks likely to trigger a new election in which the SPD — Germany’s oldest party — could expect even more severe punishment from voters.
The split was reflected in a tight vote after a day of impassioned speeches in the old West German capital of Bonn. Of 641 delegates, 56 percent voted to proceed with the talks, which have already yielded a preliminary agreement.
The vote clears the way for formal negotiations to kick off as Merkel’s conservative bloc and the SPD haggle over policies and control of key ministries. A final deal will need the approval of rank-and-file Social Democratic voters, though many analysts saw Sunday’s vote of party officials and activists as the more serious potential obstacle to agreement.
A so-called grand coalition government featuring the country’s two historically dominant parties could be in place by April.