Merkel Offered Path to Fourth Term as Resistance Begins to Fray
Social Democratic Party said to be open to talks on the new Merkel government.
(Bloomberg) -- Germany’s biggest opposition party is ready to begin talks with Angela Merkel on a minority government, offering her a way to restore political leadership in Europe’s biggest economy.
It’s the first sign the Social Democratic Party is ready to help the chancellor stay in office after her talks on forming a coalition with three other parties fell apart. SPD head Martin Schulz, who faces party pressure to go further and disavow his refusal to join a Merkel government, is meeting Germany’s president on Thursday for consultations on the way forward.
Two months after an inconclusive election that brought a far-right party into parliament, the impasse has left Merkel stranded even though she won a mandate for a fourth term. With Germany’s political map in flux, Merkel’s aversion to governing without a parliamentary majority and the SPD’s refusal to enter a coalition with her for a third time may both be up for negotiation.
“Of course we want to help Germany and we haven’t ruled out anything,” SPD lawmaker Karl Lauterbach said in a ZDF television interview. That includes the option of a “grand coalition” with Merkel’s Christian Democrat-led bloc as a last resort, he said.
Schulz, who led the SPD to its worst result since World War II in September, faces increasing pressure within the party to step aside, a move that might help clear the way for a grand coalition.
He is ready to hold talks with Merkel and is prepared to back her in a minority government, though he won’t offer another grand coalition, according to a person familiar with his thinking who asked not to be identified. Schulz will inform President Frank-Walter Steinmeier of his plan at their one-on-one meeting in Berlin, the person said.
Schulz told a German newswire he’s sure a “good solution” can be found. “The SPD is completely aware of its responsibilities in the current difficult situation,” Deutsche Presse-Agentur quoted him as saying on Wednesday.
The president has urged parties to put responsibility to the nation ahead of their own interests, ratcheting up pressure on the SPD. The party is split between those on the left who see the two coalitions with Merkel as the main reason for the slump in its support and those who spy a chance to push through policies such as expanded health care and reaching out to French President Emmanuel Macron to strengthen the euro area.
Many in the SPD would prefer to stay out of government to prevent the far-right Alternative for Germany, which entered parliament for the first time with 12.6 percent of the vote in September, from becoming the biggest opposition force.
Volker Kauder, Merkel’s parliamentary caucus leader, appeared to pour cold water on the idea of a minority government. Merkel, ruling in a caretaker capacity since she emerged weakened from the election, has signaled she would rather face new elections than govern without a majority.
“If there is no other choice, this option will have to be used but making policy and day-to-day parliamentary business would be endlessly complicated,” the Suedwest Presse newspaper quoted Kauder as saying.
--With assistance from Rainer Buergin
To contact the reporters on this story: Birgit Jennen in Berlin at bjennen1@bloomberg.net, Arne Delfs in Berlin at adelfs@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alan Crawford at acrawford6@bloomberg.net, Tony Czuczka, Ben Sills
©2017 Bloomberg L.P.