Angela’s Merkel’s ability to restore her power in Germany should be decided in the next few days, as talks take place with Martin Schultz’s SPD.
In the meantime, Merkel’s ratings have unexpectedly “tanked” in the latest German polls. More than half of Germans believe she should not run for office in a poll conducted for t-online.com, as the Daily Express reports.
Angela Merkel’s worries continue as the latest polls reveal the majority of Germans did not want her to run as a candidate for Chancellor again. The survey, carried out in the coalition talks breakdown, makes worrying reading for Angela Merkel. While Mrs Merkel said yesterday she wanted to stand again in any new snap election the German people appear to be turned off by the prospect.
Of those polled, 54 per cent said she should not run for office, according to the polling institute Civey for t-online.de. Only 38.5 percent of Germans would welcome a renewed candidacy of the chancellor. A breakdown of those views saw Mrs Merkel pick up 76.2 per cent support amongst the supporters of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Christian Social Union (CSU) which stood at 76.2 per cent.
Amongst supporters of the Greens, Mrs Merkel also seemed to gain a sizeable backing with 52.2 per cent wanting the current leader to stand again. Among the FDP supporters that was only about 30 per cent. Perhaps unsurprisingly supporters of the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) do not want her to stand again with 88.5 per cent calling on her to step back.
There was little comfort for the German leader in another poll published yesterday in Der Spiegel.
The latest SPON poll indicated that support for the coalition between Mrs Merkel’s CDU and the CSU fell below 30 per cent to 29.2 per cent. This is believed to be their lowest ever level. The polling institute Civey, based in Berlin, indicated the fall is part of a downward trend for the two parties.
There was no joy though either for the main opposition party the Social Democrats (SPD) which also suffered a decline in popularity. Leader Martin Schulz saw the support for his party drop to 19.5 per cent, its lowest level since December 2016. A similar fate was suffered by the AfD which had been making progress in popularity recently. The latest poll shows the party has fallen by 1.5 per cent points since negotiations over forming a new coalition had failed. It is now at to 13.6 per cent.
The FDP, which ruled out a forming a “Jamaican coalition” with Merkel and the Greens, rose 1.7% to 13.3% and the Greens rose 1.5% to 11.9%. The co-founder of the Greens, Hans-Christian Strobele said recently.
"The end of the chancellorship of Angela Merkel has already been announced by the outcome of the general election. "Now Merkel's political end can indeed come very quickly. In my opinion, Mrs Merkel will not be able to stay at the top of the government for much longer."
After the “Jamaican Coalition” talks broke down, Merkel indicated her preference for a new election, rather than ruling with a minority. However, we suspected it was a bluff to scare other parties back to the negotiating table. On this note there are signs of progress. Merkel’s former “Grand Coalition” partner, the SPD, has been under pressure support Merkel to secure Germany’s stability. According to Bloomberg.
Germany’s biggest opposition party is ready to begin talks with Angela Merkel on a minority government, offering her a way to restore political leadership in Europe’s biggest economy.
It’s the first sign the Social Democratic Party is ready to help the chancellor stay in office after her talks on forming a coalition with three other parties fell apart. SPD head Martin Schulz, who faces party pressure to go further and disavow his refusal to join a Merkel government, is meeting Germany’s president on Thursday for consultations on the way forward.
SPD officials are making positive noises about shoring up Merkel and German stability, which could include ditching Schulz. Bloomberg continues.
“Of course we want to help Germany and we haven’t ruled out anything,” SPD lawmaker Karl Lauterbach said in a ZDF television interview. That includes the option of a “grand coalition” with Merkel’s Christian Democrat-led bloc as a last resort, he said. Schulz, who led the SPD to its worst result since World War II in September, faces increasing pressure within the party to step aside, a move that might help clear the way for a grand coalition.
He is ready to hold talks with Merkel and is prepared to back her in a minority government, though he won’t offer another grand coalition, according to a person familiar with his thinking who asked not to be identified. Schulz will inform President Frank-Walter Steinmeier of his plan at their one-on-one meeting in Berlin, the person said.
Germany’s political establishment is in turmoil but, in its quest for stability, we can’t rule out a rapid resurgence in Merkel's at the head of a reformed Grand Coalition, if Schulz is sacrificed. In the meantime, Merkel is almost making Theresa May’s position look stable.