German Chancellor Angela Merkel opened what promised to be marathon coalition talks, hoping to bring three opposing political camps into a stable government despite signs there would be less money to paper over differences. Merkel said she was optimistic as she entered talks between her conservative bloc, the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) and the Greens, despite an assessment by her own party that the next government would have less fiscal room than expected. The talks between Merkel’s conservative bloc, the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) and the Greens are styled as “exploratory”, but negotiators aim to get down to details of tax and budget policy in their first full meeting together. FDP chief Christian Lindner had earlier said that no matter how good the “atmosphere and seriousness” the parties were far apart on 85 percent of the material to be discussed. After, FDP secretary-general Nicola Beer said she continued to believe there was a “50:50” chance of a Jamaica coalition resulting.

Source: Dhaka Tribune October 21, 2017 12:22 UTC