German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Coalition Threatens to Fracture

[marmar]

from Der Spiegel:




Chancellor Angela Merkel hasn't had it this good in a long time. It's a warm evening in the picturesque Rose Garden at the White House in Washington. Musicians are playing classical music, bats are flitting through the night sky, and at the ensuing banquet American President Barack Obama has nothing but praise for Merkel. The scene is the picture of harmony, peace and friendship, as the guests raise their glasses in a toast.

When the chancellor lands on German soil less than 12 hours later, the contrast couldn't be greater. Heavy raindrops are falling from a dirty-gray Berlin sky as the members of the German parliament meet for yet another crisis session on the fate of the European common currency. The chancellor is greeted with devastating numbers from the pollsters at Berlin's Forsa Institute: Only 35 percent of Germans say they would vote today for the governing coalition, made up of her conservatives in combination with the business-friendly Free Democrats (FDP). A coalition of the center-left Social Democrats and the Greens would attract just short of 50 percent.

Just recently, the installment of Philipp Rösler as the new FDP head seemed to usher in a new mood in the coalition. There was talk of "personal affection" between Merkel and Rösler, and the papers were full of language like "confidence" and "hope," even writing that the new coalition was off to an "atmospherically good start."

Four weeks later, the alliance has reached a new low. Merkel's decision to phase out nuclear power was the product of several difficult compromises, and now, members of her coalition are accusing one another of trickery and deception. And when it comes to the upcoming vote over a renewed bailout plan for Greece, Merkel's parliamentary majority looks unreliable indeed. ........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,768435,00.html