Political crisis in Berlin as coalition talks for German government fail
21 November 2017
The failure of talks on a so-called Jamaica coalition between the Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU), Green Party and Free Democratic Party (FDP), eight weeks after Germany’s federal election, has not only triggered a deep crisis in Berlin, it also marks a turning point in German and European politics.
It remains entirely unclear how things will proceed—whether the Social Democratic Party (SPD) will declare itself ready to continue the Grand Coalition with the CDU, whether a minority government will be formed, or whether fresh elections will be called, which will drag out the crisis even longer. However, one thing is clear. The time when differences within the ruling class could be resolved around the negotiating table is over. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s era is coming to an end. The political climate is becoming rawer, social conflicts are hardening, and official politics is moving further to the right.
Germany has long been a stabilizing force within a European Union dominated by economic crises, domestic political conflicts, and the growth of nationalist tendencies. It is now experiencing, as Spiegel Online put it, its own “Brexit moment” and “Trump moment.”
The cause of this crisis is not the squabbling over emissions rates, refugee levels and tax rates, which have dominated the Jamaica talks over the past four weeks, but rather the growing gulf between the parties’ right-wing program and the needs of broad sections of the population.
Over the past four years, the Grand Coalition has launched a massive military buildup, imposed horrendous austerity programs on weaker EU states, and increased levels of poverty and precarious working conditions…