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Sense of dread as German SPD eyes new Merkel coalition

16 November 2013 00:12 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. If you want to know how rank-and-file Social Democrats (SPD) regard the prospect of another 'grand coalition' government under Chancellor Angela Merkel, look for the red hedgehog, APA repoirts quoting Reuters.

Listening to speeches at a party congress in Leipzig from a stand emblazoned with their cute logo, four members of the "Over 60s Working Club" from the northern town of Schortens summed up grassroots sentiment in one word: skepticism.

"We don't need a repeat of the last coalition," said Holger Krahe. The SPD's reward for a 2005-2009 alliance with Merkel's conservatives was their worst election result in the post-war era - 23 percent. They only improved on that score by a few points in this September's election.

Now the SPD is on the verge of repeating what many in the party believe was a colossal mistake. From local activists like Krahe to senior figures in the party, the mood here was a mix of resignation and dread.

"You can't talk with the conservatives about what Germany will be like in 10 years' time. They're not interested," said one SPD heavyweight who may end up in Merkel's cabinet.

Chairman Sigmar Gabriel held onto his job but his lukewarm reelection in Leipzig was a message from the 600 delegates, and nearly half a million card-carrying members whom they represent, to put the party's interests first in negotiations with Merkel.

The chancellor, reelected for a third term in September but short of her own majority, wants a government by Christmas.

Her Christian Democrats and their Christian Social Union partners from Bavaria have set up 12 working groups with the SPD to seek compromises on a mind-boggling range of issues from big-ticket economic and social policies to protection for bees.

Despite some tantrums by SPD negotiators timed to provide headlines for Leipzig, the party has dropped one of its main campaign promises, higher taxes on the rich, and there is slow but steady progress in other areas like how to manage the switch from nuclear energy to renewables.

But the final coalition agreement, which could total 150 pages or more, may end up in the bin if it is not approved by about 470,000 SPD members in a ballot by early December, adding uncertainty to a process that is already trying the patience of Germany's European partners.