https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Germany in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed Half of AfD voters from all backgrounds cast their votes for fear of future economic losses, reports a new study. https://www.thelocal.de/20180223/study-fear-of-social-decline-motivates-alternative-for-germany-voters Fri, 23 Feb 2018 13:33:33 +0100 study-fear-of-social-decline-motivates-alternative-for-germany-voters Chancellor Angela Merkel warned Friday that Germany's top parties still had several "very serious differences" to bridge ahead of next week's deadline for sealing a coalition deal. https://www.thelocal.de/20180202/serious-differences-still-blocking-government-deal-says-merkel Fri, 02 Feb 2018 16:28:32 +0100 serious-differences-still-blocking-government-deal-says-merkel Chancellor Angela Merkel called on Friday for a quick end to the last stretch of tortuous negotiations to forge a government for Germany, in a race against time to stop her power slipping away at home and abroad. https://www.thelocal.de/20180126/merkel-starts-last-leg-of-negotiations-on-new-government-as-influence-ebbs Fri, 26 Jan 2018 10:18:10 +0100 merkel-starts-last-leg-of-negotiations-on-new-government-as-influence-ebbs Germany's divided Social Democrats will hold a crunch vote on Sunday on whether to pursue a coalition deal with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives, or plunge the nation into political turmoil. https://www.thelocal.de/20180121/germanys-spd-in-all-or-nothing-vote-on-merkel-alliance Sun, 21 Jan 2018 05:10:13 +0100 germanys-spd-in-all-or-nothing-vote-on-merkel-alliance Chancellor Angela Merkel and the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) agreed Wednesday to hold week-long exploratory talks until a January 12th deadline on forming a coalition government in coming months. https://www.thelocal.de/20171221/germany-merkel-spd-set-january-deadline-for-next-phase-of-government-talks Thu, 21 Dec 2017 11:27:57 +0100 germany-merkel-spd-set-january-deadline-for-next-phase-of-government-talks To many German Social Democrats it sounds like a monster that will destroy their party if not democracy itself: the GroKo. https://www.thelocal.de/20171212/anger-brewing-among-social-democrats-against-merkel-power-pact Tue, 12 Dec 2017 10:21:07 +0100 anger-brewing-among-social-democrats-against-merkel-power-pact The Social Democrats, Germany's second strongest party, agreed on Thursday to kick off exploratory talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives that could lead to a new coalition government early next year. https://www.thelocal.de/20171208/spd-agrees-to-open-government-talks-with-merkel-after-leader-pleads-for-green-light Fri, 08 Dec 2017 09:46:50 +0100 spd-agrees-to-open-government-talks-with-merkel-after-leader-pleads-for-green-light The Social Democrats were initially against forming a coalition with Merkel after a historically low election result. But now they are in talks on a Grand Coalition. Will it happen? https://www.thelocal.de/20171201/the-spd-in-a-grand-coalition-what-you-need-to-know Fri, 01 Dec 2017 16:47:02 +0100 the-spd-in-a-grand-coalition-what-you-need-to-know Chancellor Angela Merkel will hold first talks Thursday with Social Democrat chief Martin Schulz hoping to end Germany's political stalemate, but the atmosphere is poisoned by disobedience within her ranks. https://www.thelocal.de/20171130/merkel-to-start-talks-with-reluctant Thu, 30 Nov 2017 13:09:30 +0100 merkel-to-start-talks-with-reluctant Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives and the Social Democrats geared up Monday for talks on renewing their alliance, as Germany's veteran leader warned time is pressing as Europe faces a slew of challenges. https://www.thelocal.de/20171127/merkel-vows-serious-coalition-talks-with-social-democrats Mon, 27 Nov 2017 15:42:46 +0100 merkel-vows-serious-coalition-talks-with-social-democrats Germany moved a step towards resolving its political crisis Friday when the Social Democrats (SPD) said they were ready to hold talks with caretaker Chancellor Angela Merkel, in a sign they might offer the veteran leader their key support. https://www.thelocal.de/20171124/social-democrats-signal-openness-to-new-coalition-with-merkel Fri, 24 Nov 2017 10:41:05 +0100 social-democrats-signal-openness-to-new-coalition-with-merkel Pressure mounted Wednesday on Germany's Social Democrat leader Martin Schulz to reconsider an alliance with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives and stop Europe's biggest economy from sinking into months of paralysis. https://www.thelocal.de/20171122/pressure-mounts-on-social-democrats-to-throw-merkel-a-coalition-lifeline Wed, 22 Nov 2017 16:46:52 +0100 pressure-mounts-on-social-democrats-to-throw-merkel-a-coalition-lifeline The political crisis in Berlin challenges the idea of "German exceptionalism" as an anchor of democratic stability and a bulwark against a wave of populism, analysts said on Tuesday. https://www.thelocal.de/20171121/merkel-germany-europe-problem Tue, 21 Nov 2017 15:23:48 +0100 merkel-germany-europe-problem German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, whose role rarely goes beyond ribbon-cutting, has become the man of the hour in the current political crisis, holding the key to a possible compromise or snap elections. https://www.thelocal.de/20171121/cometh-the-hour-does-germanys-president-have-the-skill-to-break-political-deadlock Tue, 21 Nov 2017 15:02:27 +0100 cometh-the-hour-does-germanys-president-have-the-skill-to-break-political-deadlock Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday that she was ready to lead her party into snap elections rather than risk leading an unstable minority government, after the collapse of coalition talks plunged Germany into a political crisis. https://www.thelocal.de/20171121/merkel-says-ready-to-lead-party-in-case-of-new-election Tue, 21 Nov 2017 09:38:17 +0100 merkel-says-ready-to-lead-party-in-case-of-new-election In Germany’s biggest political upset in years, FDP liberals walked out on coalition talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives and the Greens. So what is Merkel’s next move? We take a look at the possible scenarios. https://www.thelocal.de/20171120/collapse-of-coalition-talks-germany-europe Mon, 20 Nov 2017 16:19:23 +0100 collapse-of-coalition-talks-germany-europe Chancellor Angela Merkel was scrambling to drag Germany out of crisis on Monday after high-stakes talks to form a new government collapsed, potentially forcing Europe's top economy into snap elections. https://www.thelocal.de/20171120/germany-in-political-turmoil-as-coalition-talks-to-form-a-new-government-fail Mon, 20 Nov 2017 09:53:10 +0100 germany-in-political-turmoil-as-coalition-talks-to-form-a-new-government-fail A collapse of exploratory talks on forming a new German government under Chancellor Angela Merkel would likely trigger snap elections, a prospect fraught with risk for Europe's top economic power. https://www.thelocal.de/20171117/heres-how-germany-could-end-up-having-a-snap-election-next-year Fri, 17 Nov 2017 18:03:43 +0100 heres-how-germany-could-end-up-having-a-snap-election-next-year Tough talks to form Germany's next government went into overtime Friday, putting Chancellor Angela Merkel's political future in the balance as failure to produce a deal could force snap elections. https://www.thelocal.de/20171117/german-coalition-talks-go-into-overtime-as-parties-fail-to-yield-an-agreement Fri, 17 Nov 2017 09:28:16 +0100 german-coalition-talks-go-into-overtime-as-parties-fail-to-yield-an-agreement Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that "serious differences" remain between the parties hoping to form Germany's next government but voiced hope a deal would emerge on Thursday, hours before a deadline that could trigger snap polls. https://www.thelocal.de/20171116/merkel-warns-of-tough-talks-as-clock-ticks-on-coalition-deal Thu, 16 Nov 2017 12:42:28 +0100 merkel-warns-of-tough-talks-as-clock-ticks-on-coalition-deal