Merkel touts new German elections instead of unstable minority government, after coalition talks collapse
Chancellor says she is ‘very sceptical’ about heading a minority government - but fresh polls risk the same indecisive outcome she now faces
Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday that she was ready to lead her party into snap elections rather than risk leading an unstable minority government, after the collapse of coalition talks plunged Germany into a political crisis.
“I’m very sceptical” about a minority government, Merkel told public broadcaster ARD, adding that “new elections would be the better path”.
In a separate interview with public broadcaster ZDF, Merkel emphasised that Germany needed a stable government “that does not need to seek a majority for every decision”.
The veteran leader also confirmed that she was ready to lead her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) into new elections and said she had not considered stepping down after 12 years in office.
A new vote could deliver results that are just as inconclusive as September’s, which had prompted Merkel and her conservative CDU-CSU alliance to seek a partnership with the pro-business FDP and the ecologist Greens.
Merkel, whose liberal refugee policy has proved deeply divisive, had been forced to seek an alliance with an unlikely group of parties after the ballot left her without a majority.