{"id":399359,"date":"2018-02-07T15:38:26","date_gmt":"2018-02-07T15:38:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=399359"},"modified":"2018-02-07T15:38:26","modified_gmt":"2018-02-07T15:38:26","slug":"merkel-clinches-germany-coalition-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2018\/02\/merkel-clinches-germany-coalition-deal\/","title":{"rendered":"Merkel clinches Germany coalition deal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Angela Merkel’s conservatives (CDU\/CSU) have finally hashed out a coalition deal with the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) that could break months of political deadlock in Germany.<\/p>\n

Negotiators have agreed on the division of key ministries – one of the last hurdles towards forming a government.<\/p>\n

It could end more than four months of wrangling since inconclusive elections in September.<\/p>\n

But the deal will still need to be approved by SPD members.<\/p>\n

Many in the party fear that re-entering a coalition with CDU\/CSU could damage it in the long term.<\/p>\n

In a joint news conference on Wednesday, Chancellor Merkel said the agreement gave the basis for a “good and stable government”.<\/p>\n

SPD leader Martin Schulz thanked the conservatives for making what he said were tough compromises.<\/p>\n

In a tweet, he said the deal “achieved a lot for people”\u00a0and he would be recommending that his party members accept it.<\/p>\n

What has been agreed?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The SPD looks set to control six ministries, including finance and foreign affairs.<\/p>\n

German media say Mr Schulz, a former president of the European Parliament, is hoping to get the job of foreign minister.<\/p>\n

\"MartinMr Schulz says the deal “achieves a lot for people”<\/span><\/figure>\n

But the whole agreement still needs the approval of the SPD’s 460,000 members, who will have the final say in a postal vote due in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n

Those opposed to any deal with Mrs Merkel include a new group within the SPD calling itself NoGroKo (no grand coalition).<\/p>\n

Why has this taken so long?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mr Schulz at first ruled out going back into government with Mrs Merkel’s centre-right CDU and its Bavarian sister party, the CSU.<\/p>\n

The parties had seen their popularity drop after being in coalition on and off since 2005.<\/p>\n

He changed his mind when CDU\/CSU coalition talks with the liberal Free Democrats (FDP) and Greens broke down.<\/p>\n

\n
<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Both Mr Schulz and Mrs Merkel have been under pressure to see off a challenge by the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), which became the third biggest party in September’s election.<\/p>\n

Other than distributing ministries, there have been big stumbling blocks in the coalition talks over workers’ rights and healthcare.<\/p>\n

Immigration, Europe, and tax, have also been points of contention.<\/p>\n

Why does Germany’s government matter?<\/strong><\/p>\n

By Damien McGuinness, BBC News, Berlin<\/strong><\/p>\n

Handing Germany’s centre-left control of finance, foreign and labour policy would have a big impact on the rest of the world, particularly Europe.<\/p>\n

A Social Democrat finance ministry – replacing pro-austerity Wolfgang Sch\u00e4uble – is more likely to go along with French President Macron’s ambitious plans for EU reform, by allowing more German support for struggling eurozone economies.<\/p>\n

And at home these powerful ministries would help the SPD push for key left-wing policies, such as better rights for employees.<\/p>\n

\n
<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

All of this could go down well with SPD party members, who will vote on any final coalition deal.<\/p>\n

An agreement which looks like a win for the SPD will increase the likelihood that they will vote yes.<\/p>\n

But if they vote no, then the most likely outcome could be fresh elections.<\/p>\n

What has the reaction been?<\/strong><\/p>\n

European Union allies, such as France, see Germany as a pillar of stability in the bloc and have been hoping Mrs Merkel succeeds.<\/p>\n

Top EU officials, including the Economics Commissioner Pierre Moscovici, welcomed the breakthrough on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

–<\/p>\n

Source: BBC<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Angela Merkel’s conservatives (CDU\/CSU) have finally hashed out a coalition deal with the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) that could break months of political deadlock in Germany. Negotiators have agreed on the division of key ministries – one of the last hurdles towards forming a government. It could end more than four months of wrangling since […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":399361,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[107],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nMerkel clinches Germany coalition deal - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2018\/02\/merkel-clinches-germany-coalition-deal\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Merkel clinches Germany coalition deal - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Angela Merkel’s conservatives (CDU\/CSU) have finally hashed out a coalition deal with the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) that could break months of political deadlock in Germany. Negotiators have agreed on the division of key ministries – one of the last hurdles towards forming a government. It could end more than four months of wrangling since […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2018\/02\/merkel-clinches-germany-coalition-deal\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/citi97.3\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-02-07T15:38:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Merkel.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"660\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"371\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kojo Akoto Boateng\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@citi973\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@citi973\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kojo Akoto Boateng\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2018\/02\/merkel-clinches-germany-coalition-deal\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2018\/02\/merkel-clinches-germany-coalition-deal\/\",\"name\":\"Merkel clinches Germany coalition deal - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2018-02-07T15:38:26+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-02-07T15:38:26+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1642ef473fe39bf0c4e2f2f252678eb1\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2018\/02\/merkel-clinches-germany-coalition-deal\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2018\/02\/merkel-clinches-germany-coalition-deal\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2018\/02\/merkel-clinches-germany-coalition-deal\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Merkel clinches Germany coalition deal\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/\",\"name\":\"Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always\",\"description\":\"Ghana News | Ghana Politics | Ghana Soccer | Ghana Showbiz\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1642ef473fe39bf0c4e2f2f252678eb1\",\"name\":\"Kojo Akoto Boateng\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ba51f5385119e83762c67ecd6aa410ab?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ba51f5385119e83762c67ecd6aa410ab?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Kojo Akoto Boateng\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/author\/kojo\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Merkel clinches Germany coalition deal - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2018\/02\/merkel-clinches-germany-coalition-deal\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Merkel clinches Germany coalition deal - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always","og_description":"Angela Merkel’s conservatives (CDU\/CSU) have finally hashed out a coalition deal with the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) that could break months of political deadlock in Germany. Negotiators have agreed on the division of key ministries – one of the last hurdles towards forming a government. It could end more than four months of wrangling since […]","og_url":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2018\/02\/merkel-clinches-germany-coalition-deal\/","og_site_name":"Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/citi97.3","article_published_time":"2018-02-07T15:38:26+00:00","og_image":[{"width":660,"height":371,"url":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Merkel.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Kojo Akoto Boateng","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@citi973","twitter_site":"@citi973","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kojo Akoto Boateng","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2018\/02\/merkel-clinches-germany-coalition-deal\/","url":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2018\/02\/merkel-clinches-germany-coalition-deal\/","name":"Merkel clinches Germany coalition deal - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2018-02-07T15:38:26+00:00","dateModified":"2018-02-07T15:38:26+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1642ef473fe39bf0c4e2f2f252678eb1"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2018\/02\/merkel-clinches-germany-coalition-deal\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2018\/02\/merkel-clinches-germany-coalition-deal\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2018\/02\/merkel-clinches-germany-coalition-deal\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Merkel clinches Germany coalition deal"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/","name":"Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always","description":"Ghana News | Ghana Politics | Ghana Soccer | Ghana Showbiz","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1642ef473fe39bf0c4e2f2f252678eb1","name":"Kojo Akoto Boateng","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ba51f5385119e83762c67ecd6aa410ab?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ba51f5385119e83762c67ecd6aa410ab?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Kojo Akoto Boateng"},"url":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/author\/kojo\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/399359"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=399359"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/399359\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/399361"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=399359"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=399359"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=399359"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}