In late September, German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative Christian Democratic Union-Christian Social Union (CDU-CSU) party won a plurality of seats in Germany's parliament, but early Monday, her bid for a fourth term as chancellor hit a significant snag when the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) unexpectedly pulled out of coalition talks. FDP leader Christian Lindner told reporters that in their four weeks of negotiations, the DCU, FDP, and Greens were unable to agree on policy or a direction for Germany. "It is better not to rule than to rule badly," he said. "Goodbye!"
Merkel said Monday morning that a deal had been within reach and that she intended to stay on as chancellor but would inform President Frank-Walter Steinmeier of the failed talks and discuss how to move forward. Steinmeier could call new elections or Merkel could lead a minority government with the Greens — both of which would be firsts for post-war Germany — or try to convince the Social Democrats (SDP), her coalition partners in her previous term, to stick around, despite the beating they took after aligning with her. The SDP has ruled out governing with Merkel's party again, though Germany's traditional parties are wary of the far-right, anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party gaining strength in new elections.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
George Floyd: Did Black Lives Matter fail?Feature The momentum for change fades as the Black Lives Matter Plaza is scrubbed clean
-
National debt: Why Congress no longer caresFeature Rising interest rates, tariffs and Trump's 'big, beautiful' bill could sent the national debt soaring
-
Why are military experts so interested in Ukraine's drone attack?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION The Zelenskyy government's massive surprise assault on Russian airfields was a decisive tactical victory — could it also be the start of a new era in autonomous warfare?
-
Depleted FEMA struggling as hurricane season beginsspeed read FEMA has lost a third of its workforce amid DOGE cuts enforced by President Donald Trump
-
White House tackles fake citations in MAHA reportspeed read A federal government public health report spearheaded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was rife with false citations
-
Judge blocks push to bar Harvard foreign studentsspeed read Judge Allison Burroughs sided with Harvard against the Trump administration's attempt to block the admittance of international students
-
Trump's trade war whipsawed by court rulingsSpeed Read A series of court rulings over Trump's tariffs renders the future of US trade policy uncertain
-
Elon Musk departs Trump administrationspeed read The former DOGE head says he is ending his government work to spend more time on his companies
-
Trump taps ex-personal lawyer for appeals courtspeed read The president has nominated Emil Bove, his former criminal defense lawyer, to be a federal judge
-
US trade court nullifies Trump's biggest tariffsspeed read The US Court of International Trade says Trump exceeded his authority in imposing global tariffs
-
Trump pauses all new foreign student visasspeed read The State Department has stopped scheduling interviews with those seeking student visas in preparation for scrutiny of applicants' social media
