German president pushing parties to form government

FILE: Frank-Walter Steinmeier, President of Germany (Photo By U.S. Department of State from United States – This file has been extracted from another file: Secretary Kerry and German Foreign Minister Steinmeier Pose for a Photo After Addressing Reporters in Washington (25317495401).jpg, Public Domain)

BERLIN — Germany’s president is to meet with party leaders after talks to form a new government between Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative bloc the left-leaning Greens and pro-business Free Democrats broke down earlier this week.

Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who has called on political leaders to rethink their positions and try again to form a new government, will meet the leaders of the Greens and Free Democrats later on Tuesday.

The centre-left Social Democrats — Merkel’s partners in the outgoing government — say they won’t budge from their refusal to enter a new Merkel administration. If that stands, a minority government or new elections are the only options.

Peter Altmaier, the acting finance minister and a close confidant of Merkel, called on the parties to not run away from their responsibility, but “make forming a government the primary objective.”