Germany in political turmoil as coalition talks collapse
November 20, 2017
Germany's Free Democrats have called off coalition talks with Angela Merkel's CDU/CSU bloc and the Greens. The German president is set to make an announcement on Monday afternoon after meeting with the chancellor.
Image: picture-allianc/dpa/M. Kappeler
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Merkel regrets coalition talks failure
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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 pledged to navigate Europe's largest economy through a difficult period ahead after the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) pulled out of make or break negotiations with her Christian Democrats (CDU), Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union (CSU), and the Greens.
Merkel said she regretted the breakdown of talks, noting that she and her conservative bloc believed they were "on a path where we could have reached an agreement."
"I regret, with full respect for the FDP, that we could not come to a mutual agreement," she told reporters shortly after midnight local time.
The 'Jamaica' coalition is no longer an option for Merkel
What next for Merkel?
While Merkel will remain acting chancellor, it remains unclear where this leaves her prospects of forming a new government.
Her conservatives could choose to enter talks with just the Greens to form a minority government.
The Social Democrats (SPD), who were the second-biggest party in the September election, ruled out forming a second consecutive grand coaltion later on Monday. SPD leader Martin Schulz said his party is "not available" for another coalition with Merkel and the SPD is not afraid of new elections.
After suffering a humiliating election loss in September, the SPD has repeatedly reaffirmed that its role in the upcoming Bundestag will be in opposition.
Merkel said she would inform President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who has the power to call new elections, on Monday afternoon of the failure of the coalition talks.
This suggests that a minority government with the Greens may be out of the question and the country could be heading for a new election.
Free Democrats left talks
An hour before Merkel told reporters that the talks had collapsed, FDP head Christian Lindner announced that his party had walked out of the negotiations after "reached compromises were questioned again."
"It is better not to govern than to govern wrongly," he said.
Lindner tweeted shortly afterwards defending his decision to step away from the negotiating table.
"We don't blame anyone for sticking to their principles. But we also do so ourselves. We were voted for to reverse the current trends, but we couldn't reach an agreement."
Negotiating parties react
Horst Seehofer, the head of the CSU, said that an agreement between the four negotiating parties "had been in reach" before the FDP walked out.
That sentiment was echoed by Green party co-chair Cem Özdemir, who said that he and his team had always shown a readiness to compromise on key issues. "However, the only possible democratic constellation was unfortunately shot down by the FDP," he said.
German coalition talks collapse — The reactions
The Free Democrats have abandoned talks with Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats and the Greens. DW has the best quotes from the night that rocked German politics.
Image: DW/Kay-Alexander Scholz
Angela Merkel, leader of the Christian Democrats
"It is at least a day of deep contemplation about how things proceed in Germany. But I want to say to you that I, as chancellor, will do everything to lead this country through these difficult weeks."
Image: picture alliance/dpa/B. von Jutrczenka
Christian Lindner, leader of the Free Democrats
"It is better not to govern than to govern incorrectly."
Image: picture alliance/dpa/B. von Jutrczenka
Cem Ozdemir, leader of the Greens
"An agreement would have been possible with the necessary goodwill. We were ready for this agreement right till the last seconds, and even to go a bit further, where you cannot actually go."
Image: picture alliance /dpa/M. Kappe
Thorsten Schäfer-Gümbel, deputy leader of the Social Democrats
"The SPD is not the spare wheel on Ms. Merkel's careening car."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/A. Dedert
Horst Seehofer, leader of the Christian Social Union, sister party to the Christian Democrats
"It is a pity that we did not succeed in achieving that which was within our reach."
Image: Reuters/H. Hanschke
Heiko Maas, Justice Minister and member of the Social Democrats
"We believed we were on a path where an agreement could have been reached. I regret, with full respect for the FDP, that we could not come to a mutual agreement."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Kappeler
Volker Wissing, leader of the Free Democrats in Rhineland-Palatinate
"Merkel has failed. She wanted to pursue green-and-black politics and not engage with the concerns of the FDP. The collapse of talks was the logical consequence."
Image: picture alliance/dpa/F. Rumpenhorst
Julia Klöckner, Deputy Federal Chairperson of the Christian Democrats
"You can do what the FDP did, but don't have to. Well-prepared spontaneity. The decent thing would have been if all party chairpeople had announced the cancellation together."
Image: Getty Images/AFP/J. MacDougall
Alexander Gauland, deputy leader of the Alternative for Germany
"I see that we're having an effect. Frau Merkel has failed, and it is time for her to go as chancellor."
Image: DW/Kay-Alexander Scholz
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Lindner's decision to call off talks was also rebuked by Green party lawmaker Reinhard Bütikofer, who posted on Twitter that the FDP chief had chosen "his own brand of populist agitation over political responsibility."
Stumbling blocks
Although the CDU/CSU received the most votes in Germany's national election on September 24, its surprisingly low result (32.9 percent) meant that the conservatives needed the FDP (10.7 percent) and the Greens (8.9 percent) in order to represent over 50 percent of voters.
During four weeks of difficult exploratory coalition talks, the parties were able to agree in principle on a number of issues, from digitalization to agriculture. But they struggled to find consensus on the hot button issue of immigration. More than 1 million people seeking refuge have entered the country since 2015.
Germany's colorful coalition shorthand
Foreign flags and even traffic lights are used to describe the various coalitions that emerge in German elections. Coalitions are common under Germany's proportional representation system.
Image: Getty Images
Black-red coalition
The Conservatives black combined with the traditional red of the political left is the color code when the Christian Democrats govern in a "grand coalition" with the Social Democrats. This combination of Germany's two "big tent" parties, was in power first from 1966-69 and most recently for eight years until 2021, led by then-Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Image: Odermann/IMAGO
Black and Green
The conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has teamed up with the ecologist Greens in several German states cooperating smoothly at the regional level. On the national level the two parties see eye to eye especially on strong support for Ukraine. They disagree on nuclear and renewable energy, and many conservatives despise the Greens for their multicultural and "woke" positions.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Black, Red, Green — like Kenya's flag
The center-right CDU/CSU could also team up with the Greens and the center-left SPD. This three-way coalition would be an option for a comfortable majority. It has been tested on a regional level: The eastern German state of Saxony was governed by such a coalition until 2024.
Image: Fotolia/aaastocks
The Germany coalition — Black, Red and Yellow
The neoliberal FDP has been a junior coalition partner to both the center-right CDU/CSU and the center-left SPD. A three-way coalition was forged on the state level, for example in the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt. While this combination was touted as a possibility ahead of the 2025 vote, the FDP failed to get into parliament, ruling it out from any coalition building.
Image: Hoffmann/Caro/picture alliance
'Traffic light' coalition — Red, Yellow, Green
From 2021-2025 Germany was governed by a center-left coalition of Social Democrats (SPD), ecologist Greens, and free-market-oriented neoliberal Free Democrats (FDP), whose color is yellow. The government known as "Ampel" (traffic light) in Germany, started out as a self-declared "Fortschrittskoalition" (progress coalition) but got mired in infighting and became the least popular government ever.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/J.Büttner
'Jamaica' option — black, yellow and green
A three-way combination of Christian Democrats (CDU), the Greens and the neoliberal Free Democrats (FDP), has been tested at a regional level. But the FDP and Greens described their positions as irreconcilable following the collapse of the center-left government in November 2024. With the FDP's defeat in the 2025 election it will not be an option on the national level for the foreseeable future
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/dpaweb
Black and Orange
Since 2018 Bavaria's Christian Social Union (CSU) has been governing with the Free Voters (FV), whose color is Orange. The FV is a grass-roots populist and far-right-leaning party and is led by its controversial chairman Hubert Aiwanger. Strong in rural areas of southern and eastern Germany, the Freie Wähler is seeking a larger role at the national level and currently has three MEPs.
Image: Privat
Blackberry Coalition
CDU (black), SPD (red) and BSW (violet). The new Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance's (BSW) color violet, seems fitting as it combines socialist, far-left (red) with populist right wing (blue) ideas in its platform. Although the party was only founded in 2024, it did so well in the eastern German states that it entered a coalition government with the SPD and CDU in the state of Thuringia.
Image: Colourbox
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The refugee issue helped fuel the rise of the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD), which won nearly 13 percent of the vote to become the third-largest party in the Bundestag after pulling votes from across the political spectrum.
