Germany seeks way out of crisis after govt talks collapse
Berlin, (MILLAT ONLINE):Germany’s president was to lead a push from Tuesday to save the EU’s top economy from the political turmoil sparked by the collapse of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition talks.
Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who takes centre stage because he can call snap elections, was to use his diplomatic skills as former foreign minister to persuade parties to return to the negotiating table.
The head of state, who has spoken with Merkel already, plans to meet the Greens Tuesday and the Social Democrats (SPD) Wednesday, and also schedule talks with the Free Democrats (FDP), to remind all sides of their responsibility toward the electorate.
“Germans are not natural fans of instability, minority governments or immediate repeat elections, to put it mildly,” said Berenberg Bank chief economist Holger Schmieding.
After the shock failure of the month-long coalition talks, “we now have to watch the reaction of the various parties and their political bases”, he wrote in a note.
Merkel, in power for 12 years, now serves only as caretaker chancellor after she failed to win a clear majority in the September 24 elections, largely due to the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
Her problems were compounded when the second-placed SPD, after humiliating ballot box losses, refused to serve another term as her junior coalition partners and vowed to go into opposition.
A subsequent four-week negotiating marathon to forge a new governing alliance with two smaller parties, the pro-business FDP and the left-leaning Greens, collapsed when the FDP pulled out early Monday in a shock move.
Although financial markets, after initial dips, quickly digested the news, Germany’s political world was stunned by the first such debacle in the usually staid politics of the country’s post-war era.