Berlin: Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that “serious differences” remain between the parties hoping to form Germany’s next government but voiced hope a deal would emerge on Thursday, hours before a deadline that could trigger snap polls.
We have “very different positions” on some policy issues, Merkel told reporters, adding, however, that “I believe it can work”.
After weeks of quarrelsome exploratory talks, Merkel’s CDU/CSU bloc, the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) and the left-leaning Greens are holding a final day of talks before announcing if they have found enough common ground to begin formal coalition negotiations.
The awkward bedfellows, who differ on everything from refugees and climate protection to EU reforms, have been pushed together by September’s inconclusive election, which left Merkel badly weakened as the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) lured millions of voters.
For Merkel, eyeing a fourth term, the stakes couldn’t be higher.
“If the conservatives, the Greens and the FDP can’t pull together, there’s no way to avoid new elections,” Der Spiegel news weekly wrote. “No one wants that.”
The potential tie-up, dubbed a “Jamaica coalition” because the parties’ colours match those of the Jamaican flag, is untested at the national level and how stable such a government would be is anyone’s guess.
The final round of pre-coalition talks is expected to run late into the night as party officials tackle the thorniest outstanding issues.
Merkel is facing “her most dangerous night”, Germany’s best-selling Bild newspaper said. “It’s not just the chancellor’s fourth term that depends on the success of Jamaica, but her entire political career.”
Merkel herself set the Thursday deadline to reach an agreement in principle, with the goal of having a new government in place by Christmas.
But given the deep divisions between the parties, FDP deputy leader Wolfgang Kubicki floated the prospect of extending the exploratory talks.
A 62-page working document that could form the blueprint for an agreement, seen by AFP, showed that the parties remain at odds over a long list of issues, with migration among the most contentious.
The conservatives are eager to tighten asylum policy after voters punished Merkel’s decision to allow in over a million migrants and refugees since 2015.
Merkel’s Bavarian CSU allies are even calling for a cap on migrant numbers, pitting them against the Greens who want to ease restrictions on family reunifications for asylum seekers.
The FDP’s Kubicki urged the Greens to soften their stance, but they appear in little mood to compromise after already watering down key campaign pledges to overcome deadlocks on the environment. — AFP
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