Leading German conservative confident of coalition
A leading German conservative today said he was confident the country’s two biggest parties would succeed in forming a governing coalition, but he pressed Angela Merkel’s claim to replace Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.
A “grand coalition” of Schroeder’s Social Democrats and Merkel’s conservative bloc has emerged as the likeliest new government after Germany’s September 18 election, which denied both leaders a majority for their preferred alliances.
So far, however, prospects of a have been complicated by the insistence of both on being the next chancellor. The two sides have yet to agree to formal coalition negotiations, but will meet for a second round of exploratory talks tomorrow.
“I don’t think the negotiations will fail,” Michael Glos, a senior conservative politician, told ZDF television. He added that “one should not overload the negotiations with preconditions that, in part, cannot be fulfilled”.
Still, he said there was one “good precondition” – Merkel’s demand that the Social Democrats recognise the conservatives’ claim, as the stronger group in parliament, to take the chancellery.
“I am convinced that, internally, Gerhard Schroeder already has stepped back somewhat and is only asking himself how he can sell that to his party and the supporters who trust him,” Glos said.
The Social Democrats have poured scorn on the idea of accepting Merkel as chancellor. However, one official today appeared to leave the door open to the possibility – although he repeated the party’s insistence policies must be addressed before the leadership question is resolved.
“I cannot and don’t want to imagine it,” Heiko Maas, the Social Democrats’ chairman in Saarland state, replied when asked if he could rule out his party helping Merkel into the chancellery.
“But that simply has to be negotiated as well,” he added in an interview with Suedwestrundfunk radio. “It is legitimate that each party goes into negotiations with its position … we will see what comes out.”
Schroeder said he “will do everything” to ensure that a “grand coalition” comes together.
He hinted at future flexibility, conceding that both sides eventually would have to compromise, but refused for now to bow to “unseemly pressure” to abandon his claim to the chancellery.
