Martin Schulz, chairman of the German Social Democratic Party (SPD), front left, German Chancellor and chairwomen of the German Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Angela Merkel, front right, and Horst Seehofer, rear center, chairman of the Christian Social Union (CSU), arrive for coalition negotiations on a new German government between the Christian Unions bloc and the Social Democratic Party (SPD) in Berlin, Germany, Friday, Feb. 2, 2018. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn),Martin Schulz, chairman of the German Social Democratic Party (SPD), front left, German Chancellor and chairwomen of the German Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Angela Merkel, front right, and Horst Seehofer, rear center, chairman of the Christian Social Union (CSU), arrive for coalition negotiations on a new German government between the Christian Unions bloc and the Social Democratic Party (SPD) in Berlin, Germany, Friday, Feb. 2, 2018. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)
Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives and the center-left Social Democrats are embarking on what they hope is their last round of talks on forming a new German government, although the negotiations could take up to two more days. The effort to put together a governing coalition is already post-World War II Germany's longest, and won't finish with these talks.
BERLIN (AP) — Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives and the center-left Social Democrats are embarking on what they hope is their last round of talks on forming a new German government, although the negotiations could take up to two more days.
The effort to put together a governing coalition is already post-World War II Germany’s longest, and won’t finish with these talks. A deal will require approval in a ballot of the Social Democrats’ members.
The two sides set Sunday as a deadline to wrap up negotiations, though they’ve budgeted two extra days as a precaution.
Senior Social Democrat Manuela Schwesig said Sunday that “many questions remain open.” She argued there’s no point in pushing for a quick finish only to have party members ask a week later: “What nonsense did they negotiate?”
