BERLIN, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- The coalition talks for a new German government failed late Sunday night after the pullout of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) due to unbridgeable differences in immigration and energy, throwing the European powerhouse into the worst political crisis in more than a decade.
TEST FOR MERKEL LEADERSHIP
Chancellor Merkel is holding urgent talks with President Frank-Walter Steinmeier about how to find a way out of the current impasse.
After hearing the news of the collapse of negotiations, Steinmeier had cancelled a planned trip to the state of North-Rhine Westphalia on short notice to remain in Berlin.
The largely symbolic role of president is associated with mediating and consensus-building responsibilities in Germany, giving Steinmeier a central role in helping overcome uncertainty in the German political landscape.
Much media and political speculation has focused on the fate of Chancellor Merkel.
Many observers had initially expressed confidence that the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) leader would demonstrate her traditional skill as a veteran stateswoman in mastering the complex "Jamaica" coalitions.
Jamaica coalition is a term in German politics describing a coalition government among the parties of Merkel's CDU/CSU bloc, FDP and the Green party.
However, the collapse of talks is widely seen as a serious test to Merkel's leadership of more than 11 years.
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party went as far as to urge Merkel to resign over the failure of talks.
"Ms. Merkel has failed and the time has come for her to step down as Chancellor," AfD parliamentary faction leader Alexander Gauland said.
POLITICAL CHAOS
It's still too early to predict the fate of Merkel, but it's already the truth that German political system has been in a serious chaos, while the parties are pointing their fingers at each other.
The CDU, Christian Social Union (CSU) and Greens (Gruene) all joined in attacking the FDP for abruptly abandoning talks on Sunday night.
CDU secretary general Peter Tauber complained that the FDP had been "too cowardly to take responsibility" despite having been offered significant concessions on a range of issues such as the abolition of the so-called "solidarity tax".
Greens chief negotiator Michael Kellner further accused the FDP of having prevented the formation of a new government out of political calculations and described the party's participation in official negotiations as a "poorly-staged play."
Kellner claimed that the FDP had hampered the progress of talks by repeatedly making itself an obstacle to compromises in areas like refugee and climate policy between the CDU/CSU and Greens.
In a similar vein, Thomas Kreuzer, CSU regional parliamentary faction leader in its home-state of Bavaria, voiced the suspicion that the FDP had already been "planning" to retract its support for a "Jamaica" coalition.
The FDP rejected these accusations and instead blamed acting Merkel for the dramatic failure of the talks. FDP politician Volker Wissing told "Deutschlandfunk" that CDU and CSU had been overwhelmed with their task.
According to Wissing, Merkel had organized "chaotic negotiations" and "completely misread" the situation at hand.
The FDP politician defended his party's decision by arguing that more than 200 unresolved points still remained between the "Jamaica" parties after four weeks of talks.
FDP leader Christian Lindner had informed press that he was giving up on negotiations shortly before midnight (CET) on Sunday night with the words "it is better not to govern, than to govern falsely."
FDP secretary general Nicola Beer subsequently voiced optimism that her party was well poised to compete in re-elections.
Amid the trade of accusations among parties, President Steinmeier said Germany was now facing the worst governing crisis in the 68-year history of its post-World War II democracy.
RENEWED TALKS OR RE-ELECTION?
Without the FDP, the CDU/CSU bloc and Greens do not enjoy a sufficient majority in the new German Federal Parliament (Bundestag) to pass legislation.
Given the German Social Democrats (SPD) refusal to enter coalition talks with the CDU and CSU, possibility of re-elections can not be ruled out.
SPD secretary general Hubertus Heil consequently criticized the CDU, CSU, FDP and Greens for bringing "the Federal Republic of Germany into a difficult situation."
German media reported that the SPD has itself been surprised by Sunday night's development and cited party insiders who said that the party had made no preparations for a re-run of the September's federal poll.
Nevertheless, several SPD representatives reiterated on Monday that they were not available for another "grand coalition" between the CDU, CSU and SPD.
By contrast, the Left party (Linke) was quick to a call for re-elections. Speaking to the newspaper "Berliner Zeitung", Left party president Katja Kipping demanded a new poll "as quickly as possible."
"Nobody can seriously want a continuation of the grand coalition," Kipping asserted.
She claimed that re-elections would show that Merkel's style of governing no longer enjoyed voter support and it was time for a left-wing alternative.
Green party negotiator and Environmental Minister Juergen Trittin told "Deutschlandfunk" that re-elections were likely to occur around Easter.
Given that Germany was internationally expected to exert a stabilizing influence, Trittin said that he did not expect a minority government to constitute a viable alternative.
Nevertheless, CDU secretary Peter Tauber did not want to discuss the prospect of re-elections on Monday, arguing that voters expected of politicians to find solutions to problems.
Despite the call for elections by some parties, President Steinmeier still presses parties to form coalition for good of Europe.
The president's intervention may suggest that in his mind a re-election could only be the last resort.
