Merkel Gives Up on 'Jamaica', Sets Sights on Grand Coalition With SPD

Thứ Ba, 28/11/2017, 20:52

Germany's Chancellor has abandoned hopes of creating a so-called 'Jamaica Coalition' with the Greens and center-right Free Democrats; instead she will turn to the tested option of establishing a coalition with the Social Democrats, despite initial misgivings among her fellow Christian Democrats and Bavarian CSU allies.

The Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) and Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU) alliance is ready to begin negotiations with the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) on the formation of a new German federal government, the head of the CDU and the alliance's leader, acting Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters in Berlin, additing that she agrees with the German liberals' leader Christian Lindner's statements that the formation of the Jamaica coalition in Germany is impossible.

"We are ready to launch negotiations with the SPD," Merkel said, adding that this time, the alliance intends to act "decisively, aiming at the success of negotiations."

On Sunday, Bavarian Minister President Horst Seehofernoted told that the formation of a new grand coalition between German Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU/CSU and the center-left SPD is "the best option for Germany". Up to him, such a scenario would be "better in any case than 'Jamaica', new elections or a minority government." In case two sides would be unable to come to the bilateral agreement, the internal political turmoil would be unevitable.

For about four weeks marathon talks to form a new German government within the so called 'Jamaica coalition' are being hold. The country's leadership has now to choose between new elections to the Bundestag and further attempts to form a coalition.

On November, 20 the German Free Democratic Party (FDP) announced its withdrawal from the coalition talks with the union of the CDU/CSU and the Greens (prospective 'Jamaica coalition'). However, disagreements over such issues as migration and climate change have prevented parties from reaching a deal.

Now Germany has been bogged down in political crisis: eigher new elections to the Bundestag have to be appointed or further attempts to form a coalition.

Current poltiical crisis is the result of the parliamentary elections on September 24, when both the CDU/CSU and the SPD suffered their worst election results since the 1940s, with 33 percent of votes and secured 246 seats in the parliament for CDU/CSU, SPD with 20.5% of votes and 12.6% for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. The FDP came fourth with 10.7 percent of votes and 80 seats. The Greens came sixth, gaining 8.9 percent of votes and 67 seats.