Social Democrats leader Andrea Nahles said she wrote to other members of the coalition government to revisit Tuesday’s agreement, which she said met with “widespread bewilderment” among Germans. Merkel told reporters in Munich that she hopes to find a “viable solution” with her coalition partners over the weekend. Seehofer agreed Tuesday to remove Maassen from the spy agency but then made him deputy minister — with a hefty pay rise. An opinion poll published Friday by public broadcaster ARD showed Merkel’s Union bloc receiving 28 percent of the vote and the Social Democrats getting 17 percent, compared with almost 33 and 20.5 percent respectively at last year’s election. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: Washington Post September 21, 2018 14:46 UTC