Andrea Nahles, the leader of Germany’s junior coalition partner, the Social Democrats (SPD), has announced her resignation, raising concerns that Angela Merkel’s government might collapse. The future of the coalition now depends on the decision as to who succeeds Nahles. The CDU was on Sunday sending out the message that it was in favour of keeping the grand coalition afloat. Dietmar Bartsch, parliamentary leader of the leftwing Die Linke, paid tribute to Nahles, but criticised the ongoing row within the SPD. The formation of the grand coalition meant the AfD became the strongest opposition party in parliament.

Source: The Guardian June 02, 2019 09:01 UTC