Germany in political crisis as coalition talks collapse

AFP|

Updated: Nov 20, 2017, 07.55 AM IST

BERLIN: Chancellor Angela Merkel was left battling for political survival Monday after high-stakes talks to form a new government collapsed -- plunging Germany into a crisis that could see it hold fresh elections.

Europe's biggest economy now faces weeks, if not months of paralysis with a lame-duck government that is unlikely to take bold policy action.

And with no other viable coalition in sight, Germany may be forced to hold new elections that risk being as inconclusive as September's polls.

Merkel had been forced to seek an alliance with an unlikely group of parties after September's elections left her without a majority.

But after more than a month of gruelling negotiations, the leader of the pro-business FDP, Christian Lindner, walked out of talks, saying there was no "basis of trust" to forge a government with Merkel's conservative alliance CDU-CSU and ecologist Greens.

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