The leader of Germany’s Social Democrats (SPD) said on Monday he wanted to renegotiate key issues agreed in a coalition blueprint with Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives after his party narrowly agreed to pursue formal coalition talks. Merkel, SPD head Martin Schulz and the leader of her Bavarian CSU allies, Horst Seehofer, will meet on Monday and the full talks may start as early as Tuesday. SPD General Secretary Lars Klingbeil told public broadcaster ARD he thought the conservatives were aware that SPD members needed to be won over. Eyeing a fourth term as chancellor, Merkel wants the SPD to agree to a re-run of the ‘grand coalition’ that has governed Europe’s economic powerhouse since 2013. “Coalition negotiations between the CDU/CSU and the SPD need to start quickly,” he told daily Bild.

Source: Dhaka Tribune January 22, 2018 12:45 UTC