Germany: coalition talks fail

[Ezior]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/19/german-coalition-talks-close-to-collapse-angela-merkel

I hope this is not the end of the road for Merkel, but it might be. The only feasible coalition with at least 50% of Bundestag seats needs to include the "libertarian" free-market-believers (?) ("marktliberal" in German) FDP, but the FDP refuses to work with the Green party, because the FDP wants us to keep on burning a lot of coal, and they refuse to take in as many refugees as the Green party insists on.

Now there are 2 options left:
- Coalition with less than 50% of seats, that needs to find support from other MPs for every bill – possibly including AFD (alt-right) MPs
- Repeat the election

I'm afraid this might help the AFD. Because of them there is no majority for any "traditional" coalition like CDU/CSU/FDP (conservative coalition) or SPD/Green Party(/Linke?) (liberal coalition).

Oh well. Things appear to be going downhill fast.

[sandensea]

1. Time for new elections, I suppose.

Spain went through something similar a year ago - although Germany's lucky in that they have an internationally-respected stateswoman as head of government, unlike the modern-day Franco governing Spain.

[Ezior]

2. Yeah, I'm glad we have Merkel

But afraid we might lose her soon. The right-wing will surely ask for her resignation.

And there's not really anybody else in the CDU I trust to do a good job. Other parties are unlikely to win. Maybe polls will change drastically if Merkel is gone, let's see.

[sandensea]

3. Viel Gluck!

All the Best to the German people in this challenging moment.

[DFW]

4. The FDP were idiots. They could have had a voice in things. To lose it over coal and refugees

Coal is a loser long term, and they could have given a little on the number of refugees. Then the Greens would have been obligated to do the same. Germany can't take in endless numbers of refugees and it cannot continue to mine and burn coal. If the two small parties couldn't accept that, then they are being stupid and rigid to the point where they risk turning the government over a coalition including the least democratic and most authoritarian movements in Germany (AfD and Die Linken).

I know how stubborn Germans can be, but to let this opportunity pass is just the height of stupidity right now.

[Ezior]

7. Now they claim it's unrelated to immigration / refugees and coal

Apparently, the FDP cancelled everything because they felt like there wouldn't be enough Bürokratieabbau (bureaucracy reduction), and they were not happy with the talks about education. Sounds like a load of BS IMHO.

It's strange, because education is pretty much left up to the states (Ländersache), so maybe they wanted to limit states' rights and the CDU hated it? Still, WTF is wrong with them. Those are minor issues. You don't cancel talks after 5 weeks because of a lack of bureaucracy reduction…

[DFW]

8. I'm fed up with the bureaucrats, too, but that system was set up under Kaiser Wilhelm

It is not going to disappear overnight, and to exclude their party from the government while not allowing their senior coalition partner to form one is beyond stupid.

My wife, a social worker by profession, and usually an accurate judge of character, said way before the election that she didn't trust Lindner, and that she found something very phony about him. Once again, her instincts were deadly accurate (her only mnajor lapse in judgment was marrying me, but I'm not about to give her a hard time over that after 35 years).

[malaise]

5. Not good n/t

[quartz007]

6. Oh well, can't win them all..

Merkel has been in power as head of state for many years.
Need new and younger leader to govern Germany, like France, Canada & others.