GERMAN ELECTIONS 2017

Germany: Social Democrats ready for talks to end political crisis

The Social Democrats (SPD) said Friday that they are ready to hold talks that may help caretaker Chancellor Angela Merkel resolve a deep political crisis without calling new elections. “The SPD is of the firm conviction that there must be talks,” its general secretary Hubertus Heil said after an eight-hour, late-night meeting headed by SPD leader Martin Schulz. “The SPD …

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German president calls on parties to make coalition possible

Frank-Walter Steinmeier has taken Germany’s political parties to task after talks to form a new government broke down. The German president says coalition talks must continue amidst speculation there could be a new vote. Deutsche Welle’s Jefferson Chase (Berlin) reports. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier did not announce any concrete steps in a brief statement delivered in Berlin on Monday after …

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BREAKING! German coalition talks collapse after FDP walks out

Germany’s Free Democrats have called off coalition talks with Angela Merkel’s CDU/CSU bloc and the Greens. FDP head Christian Lindner said that after weeks of negotiations the parties could not find a “basis of trust.” Germany was thrust into uncertainty early Monday morning after a month of four-party exploratory talks about forming a so-called Jamaica coalition collapsed. Chancellor Angela Merkel …

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Germany: Merkel confident coalition talks are on track despite divisions

The chancellor has said that her CDU party, the Greens and the business-friendly FDP will have an initial agreement ready this week. It is nearly two months since Germany held its general election. Elizabeth Schumacher reports. German Chancellor Angela Merkel appeared optimistic on Sunday that despite major policy differences – her Christian Democratic Party (CDU), the Greens and the pro-business …

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Germany: Coalition talks for new government proving difficult

Threats, name-calling and a whole lot of dramatic posturing: talks among four fractious parties to form a new government under German Chancellor Angela Merkel have proved more fiery than fruitful so far. September’s inconclusive general election left the camps, which span the political spectrum, scrambling to form a stable government under Merkel, with the outcome of negotiations highly uncertain. “We …

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Schäuble elected speaker as new German parliament takes off

Germany’s Bundestag has chosen outgoing Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble to be its parliamentary president or speaker. Accepting the post, Schäuble stressed the need to maintain mutual “respect” amid heated debates. Germany’s new parliament held its first session since the September elections in Berlin on Tuesday, with one of its first acts being to choose Wolfgang Schäuble from Angela Merkel’s Christian …

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CDU, CSU agree on Germany’s new ground rules for migration

The ruling Christian Democrats (CDU) and their sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU) have agreed to put a limit on the number of refugees Germany would accept on humanitarian grounds each year. They also laid out further steps to regulate migration in a regulatory framework. What are the key points of the plan? Charlotte Hauswedell reports. The new plan …

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Angela Merkel announces coalition talks with FDP and Greens

German Chancellor Angela Merkel says her CDU will hold talks with the FDP and the Greens on forming a coalition government. The move was widely expected after the Social Democrats said they wanted to be in opposition. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday that her Christian Democratic Union would hold talks with the Free Democratic Party (FDP) and the …

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Merkel to continue in office with liberals and greens after election ‘earthquake’

Angela Merkel looks set to govern Germany for another four years together with liberals and greens, but there is a new troublemaker – the far-right AfD party – on the scene, reports Andrew Rettman. The likely CDU/CSU-FDP-Greens coalition emerged after exit polls on Sunday (24 September) said Merkel’s centre-right CDU/CSU party won with 32.5 per cent and the centre-left SPD …

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German voters undecided hours before polls open

With opinion polls suggesting a third of the electorate is still undecided about who to vote for a day before the federal parliamentary election, candidates have been out and about doing some last-minute campaigning. While Angela Merkel is widely predicted to be re-elected chancellor, her conservative CDU party seems to have taken a last-minute dip in support. It has slipped …

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How will Germans with foreign roots vote on Sunday?

The number of voters with a migration background, meaning that they or their parents were not born as German citizens, is growing. The SVR Forschungsbereich, a research group, presented an investigation in November 2016 that shows the parties with the strongest appeal among Germany’s migrants, providing a hint on how they will vote as the nation goes to the polls to …

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Merkel heading for fourth term in splintered German election – poll

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is on track to win a fourth term in Sunday’s national election despite a dip in support for her conservatives, a poll showed on Tuesday, and she shrugged off calls to quit from far-right hecklers. Merkel has been repeatedly booed during the election campaign, particularly in Germany’s formerly Communist east, where support is strongest for the …

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German chancellor trounces election rival Martin Schulz in TV debate, say viewers

Angela Merkel has been judged by viewers to be the more credible candidate following the election debate with her SPD rival, Martin Schulz. DW looks at the candidates’ positions on the key domestic and global issues. Chancellor Angela Merkel made the more convincing case to lead Germany for the next four years in Sunday’s television debate against her election rival, …

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Germany: Merkel heckled by anti-refugee crowd at campaign rally

German Chancellor Angela Merkel was confronted by whistling and screaming protesters during a campaign speech for the second time in a little more than a week. The defiant chancellor told the anti-refugee hecklers Germany still welcomes asylum-seekers. Merkel, who is seeking a fourth term as the chancellor in the 24 September election, spoke on Saturday to a crowd of 1,500 …

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Bundestag 2017: Germany’s political parties at a glance

Voters in Germany will head to the polls for a general election on 24 September, with surveys giving Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative CDU a double-digit lead over their closest rivals, the Social Democrats. But the race for third place is wide open, and in Germany’s coalition system the smaller parties could tip the balance of power.  Here’s a look at the …

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