Almost 24 Hours And Still No Deal: Merkel Struggles To Clinch Govt Accord

Chancellor Angela Merkel was struggling to find a coalition deal with Germany's second biggest party, as a last-ditch round of negotiations stretched well into overtime Friday with "big obstacles" left to clear

Berlin, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 12th Jan, 2018 ) :Chancellor Angela Merkel was struggling to find a coalition deal with Germany's second biggest party, as a last-ditch round of negotiations stretched well into overtime Friday with "big obstacles" left to clear.

After almost 24 hours of marathon talks, there was still no agreement in sight between Merkel's conservatives and the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD). Questions surrounding Germany's 2015 record refugee influx as well as issues related to the country's finances were key sticking points even as Europe's biggest economy posted healthy growth for 2017 and a record surplus.

With parties digging their heels in, the meeting was proving to be long even by Merkel's standard. The veteran of all-night haggling in Brussels had seen through tough talks on Greece's debt and peace negotiations for east Ukraine, but none have dragged on quite as long as the latest session that began at 8am (0700GMT) on Thursday.

But Merkel knows what is at stake.

After September's inconclusive elections left her without a majority, the veteran leader's first attempt at forging a coalition with smaller parties had collapsed in November.

She now desperately needs to get the SPD to renew an alliance with her conservatives if she is to salvage her political future. Merkel had warned early Thursday that it would be a "tough day" of talks.

SPD leader Martin Schulz also spoke of "big obstacles" on the last day of preliminary talks in which the parties were sounding each other out over whether to move on to formal coalition negotiations.

In fact, not only is Merkel's career on the line, but also Schulz's and that of Horst Seehofer -- the leader of Merkel's Bavarian allies, said political analyst Karl-Rudolf Korte of Duisburg-Essen University.

"The negotiations are not just about a coalition, but also their careers. It would be the end for all three if this coalition does not come about," he told public broadcaster ZDF.