Germany’s Never-Ending Coalition Talks Break Record

The longest Germany has ever taken to form a new government was 86 days. Now, that record has been broken. And no one has any idea when the waiting will be over.

So much for German efficiency. Ongoing attempts to form a new government after the country’s September 24 election are once again looking bleak, DW reported.

After the collapse of lengthy coalition talks between Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU), its Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union (CSU), the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP) and the environmental Green party, all hopes were put on resuscitating a grand coalition between the CDU and the Social Democratic Party (SPD). Now those hopes will have to be put on ice.

SPD leader and former chancellor candidate Martin Schulz announced via Twitter on Tuesday that his party’s leadership would not discuss the possibility of coalition talks until they convene at a special party conference in Bonn on January 21. The reason, he said, was that the CSU had refused to begin talks until after its traditional conclave of federal parliamentarians in early January.

“Therefore, we need a bit more time,” Schulz wrote.

Merkel, however, was supposed to meet with Schulz, CSU leader Horst Seehofer and all three parties’ parliamentary group leaders on Wednesday to lay the groundwork for the future talks.