Merkels Attempt to Form a New German Government Collapses

[FarCenter]

German Chancellor Angela Merkel declared failure in her bid to form a new government, throwing the future of Europe’s longest-serving leader into doubt and potentially pointing the world’s fourth-biggest economy toward new elections. The euro fell.

A month of exploratory coalition talks ended in a dramatic collapse just before midnight Sunday in Berlin when the pro-market Free Democratic Party, one of the prospective partners, walked out on a deal that Merkel said had been within reach.

After 12 years in office that have made her Europe’s anchor of stability in times of crisis, Merkel said she’s staying on as acting chancellor and will consult with Germany’s president later Monday on what comes next. The collapse signals the limit of her pragmatic, non-ideological style of governing and leaves her options for staying in power for another four years dramatically narrowed.

“It’s a day at the very least for a profound examination of Germany’s future,” Merkel, 63, told reporters after the talks ended. “As chancellor, as caretaker chancellor, I will do everything to make sure this country continues to be well governed through the tough weeks ahead.”

Possibilities now include setting up a minority government headed by her Christian Democratic-led bloc or asking President Frank-Walter Steinmeier to order a national election just months after the last one in September. Both scenarios would be uncharted territory for Germany, which has had only eight chancellors in the seven decades since World War II.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-11-19/merkel-s-push-collapses-to-reach-four-party-coalition-agreement-ja7dc50v

[Dawson Leery]

1. The SDU is not willing to be practical.

If a new election is held, I fully support the CDU.

[FarCenter]

2. I always thought a coalition with the Greens and FDP was very long odds.

[Ken Burch]

3. It would be political suicide for the SPD to join another coalition with Merkel

If they did that again, they would no longer have any distinct identity as a party at all, or any reason to continue to exist.

Why should they do something that would turn everyone in Germany against them forever?

The SPD dropped to 20% in this election. A third coalition with Merkel could knock that down to 15%, a showing that would finish them.

What the SPD reallys need to do is to start actually fighting for social democracy again, give up on the Third Way, and join the Greens in negotiating seriously with Die Linke(the party of the anti-austerity Left) to create a common program that represents a clear break with the status quo. Die Linke will never go away, and there's no way to get the CDU out without treating it as a legitimate party and eventually coalescing with it.

If the SPD still isn't willing to do that, it should simply vote to dissolve itself, because there will be no further reason for it to carry on.