THE clock was nearing midnight on November 19th when Christian Lindner walked out. Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU), Bavaria’s Christian Social Union (CSU), Mr Lindner’s Free Democrats (FDP) and the Greens were close to reaching a deal after weeks of preliminary coalition talks—or so observers thought. In a brief statement, the FDP’s leader shattered their expectations. The talks had failed to yield a “common vision” for the future of the country, he said. Entering a coalition would require his party to give up its principles: “It is better not to govern at all than to govern wrongly.”
Mr Lindner’s walkout has put Germany in an unprecedented situation. With the option of a so-called Jamaica coalition (the parties’ colours are the same as those of the Jamaican flag) all but off the table, coalition talks have failed to produce a government for the first time since the federal republic was founded in 1949. For Angela Merkel, already weakened by poor election...Continue reading
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