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Germany could hold new elections if Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union fails to form a stable coalition government:
The breakdown of the coalition talks last weekend has done more than dent Ms. Merkel's seeming invulnerability and raise the prospect of new elections, analysts say. Although the Social Democrats agreed on Friday to meet with the chancellor's party next week — raising hopes for, if not a coalition, then a tolerated minority government — the current situation may well signal the breakdown of Germany's postwar tradition of consensus and the dawn of a messy and potentially unnerving politics.
"The distinctive political tradition of the Federal Republic of Germany is change through consensus," said Timothy Garton Ash, a professor of European studies at the University of Oxford. That was what was at stake, he said. "It hasn't worked so far this time."
The leader of the Social Democrats has said that the party's members would have to vote on joining a coalition led by Merkel.
Also at DW (alternate), BBC, The Hill, and NYT (11/20 editorial).
Related: Germany's jubilant far-right has Merkel in its sights
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 25 2017, @11:46AM (2 children)
Isn't a government that can't trouble citizens by its "governing", the very best option in most circumstances?
(Score: 2) by looorg on Saturday November 25 2017, @01:19PM (1 child)
Sometimes it might be. It clearly depends on the circumstances. If everything is great and nothing needs to be done about anything, then this might be awesome. If things need to be done, if there needs to be changes cause the system is fucked up then this is clearly quite horrible. Since it just passes time and then usually makes the situation much worse -- unless you believe somehow that time heals all wounds and doing nothing is ok and just hope that it will magically (or some other way) resolve itself. Since the government in this case has clearly fucked up by letting in a massive amount of "useless" people that cause nothing but trouble. Just leaving that system in place and doing nothing about it is probably not the best solution.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 25 2017, @02:11PM
When and where has ever existed a government that fixed its own failures?
The very best those things can do, is not to compound them.