After wrapping up more than 24 hours of talks Friday between her conservatives and the Social Democrats on forming a new “grand coalition” government, Merkel insisted the preliminary deal would break the deadlock in Germany and pave the way to a “fresh start” for Europe. This compares with the lavish, nearly 80-percent majority the parties enjoyed during Merkel’s previous term, he told public broadcaster ZDF. ‘Paleo-coalition’Merkel insisted the accord with the Social Democrats, which must still be approved by the party’s rank and file, would ensure Germany’s enduring stability and prosperity. “Angela Merkel is past her zenith,” Oskar Niedermayer of Berlin’s Free University told business daily Handelsblatt. “In the interest of her party’s electoral strength, she should not stay in office for the entire legislative term” running until 2021.

Source: The Guardian January 13, 2018 16:07 UTC