{"id":50618,"date":"2017-11-04T07:11:42","date_gmt":"2017-11-04T07:11:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=50618"},"modified":"2017-11-04T07:11:42","modified_gmt":"2017-11-04T07:11:42","slug":"merkel-says-three-way-coalition-can-work-greens-skeptical","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/world-news\/merkel-says-three-way-coalition-can-work-greens-skeptical.html","title":{"rendered":"Merkel says three-way coalition can work, Greens skeptical"},"content":{"rendered":"

Merkel says three-way coalition can work, Greens skeptical<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Merkel says three-way coalition can work, Greens skeptical:- German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed confidence on Friday that her conservatives can reach a coalition deal with the Greens and pro-business Free Democrats (FDP), but her would-be partners say the talks could still fail.<\/span><\/p>\n

After bleeding support to the far right in last month\u2019s election, and with her former coalition partners, the Social Democrats (SPD), determined to go into opposition, Merkel must bring together three disparate blocs to secure a majority. Party leaders are slated to meet on Monday evening before the larger negotiating teams launch into more detailed talks.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDifficult deliberations lie ahead of us in the coming days,\u201d Merkel told reporters on arrival for a fresh round of exploratory talks. \u201cBut I still think we can tie the ends together if we try and work hard.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Failure to forge a coalition would likely result in a new election that could see more gains for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), which surged into parliament last month.<\/span><\/p>\n

SPD leader Martin Schulz ruled out any prospect of resuming the outgoing \u201cgrand coalition\u201d if Merkel failed to reach agreement with the Greens and FDP.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf Mrs. Merkel can\u2019t put a government together, there must be new elections,\u201d he said in an interview to be published Saturday by the RND newspaper chain.<\/span><\/p>\n

Marco Buschmann, head of the FDP parliamentary group and a member of the party\u2019s negotiating team, told Saturday editions of Die Welt newspaper that his party was ready to move into opposition if the coalition talks failed.<\/span><\/p>\n

A new election could strengthen the far-right Alternative for Germany that entered parliament with 13 percent of the vote, but voters might not turn to the AfD as a \u201cprotest vote\u201d if the differences among the other parties were more clear, he added.<\/span><\/p>\n

The would-be allies agreed during Friday\u2019s talks on the need to relieve the financial burden on families, increase child care options and combat child poverty, negotiators said.<\/span><\/p>\n

They also agreed to support Germany\u2019s role in NATO and other multilateral organizations, to strengthen cooperation with France and to maintain \u201cgood relations\u201d with Russia.<\/span><\/p>\n

DIVISIONS<\/span><\/p>\n

But they remain at odds about immigration caps, whether to end coal production, how to combat climate change and increasing defense spending, among other issues. And the divisive issue of transport was not discussed at all on Friday.<\/span><\/p>\n

Negotiators agreed to \u201cbe nicer to each other\u201d, FDP deputy leader Wolfgang Kubicki told reporters, adding: \u201cI\u2018m willing to try, but everyone has to play along.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The parties will now spend the weekend distilling their priorities before Merkel meets the other party leaders on Monday.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe have all the many ingredients on the table. Now we have to combine them all into a tasty dough,\u201d said Michael Kellner, a top Greens negotiator.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fellow Greens negotiator Juergen Trittin struck a less conciliatory tone, telling ARD television that, after 10 days of debate on 12 topics, the parties still \u201chaven\u2019t even managed to agree on what we disagree about\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

FDP leader Christian Lindner and Buschmann put the odds of a coalition being formed at 50-50. Greens foreign policy expert Omid Nouripour said the talks might fail altogether.<\/span><\/p>\n

Merkel has said she expects a stable government before Christmas, but senior conservatives close to her say it may take until next year for a new government to be formed.<\/span><\/p>\n

Horst Seehofer, embattled head of the CSU, sister party to Merkel\u2019s CDU, said he was encouraged by \u201cvery constructive, trustworthy discussions\u201d among party leaders in recent days.<\/span><\/p>\n

He urged negotiators to stop airing their conflicts in public. \u201cWe can hit the reset button and hope that things change in the next few days,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Seehofer came under fire from his party\u2019s youth wing for cancelling a speech to the group, which has called for a more \u201cyouthful image\u201d ahead of Bavarian regional elections next year.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hans Reichhart, head of the CSU youth group, suggested the move could exacerbate debate about Seehofer\u2019s future after sharp losses in the Sept. 24 election.<\/span><\/p>\n

Seehofer had urged party members to put off debating the leadership until later this month, arguing that it could weak<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:-\u00a0https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-germany-politics\/merkel-says-three-way-coalition-can-work-greens-skeptical-idUSKBN1D30XW<\/p>\n

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