{"id":35706,"date":"2017-11-22T14:03:31","date_gmt":"2017-11-22T03:03:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=35706"},"modified":"2017-11-22T14:50:18","modified_gmt":"2017-11-22T03:50:18","slug":"germanys-unresolved-elections-jamaica-no-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/germanys-unresolved-elections-jamaica-no-more\/","title":{"rendered":"Germany\u2019s unresolved elections\u2014Jamaica no more"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/figure>\n

After four weeks of exploratory talks between the centre-right parties led by Angela Merkel failed to find enough common ground with the Greens and the Free Democratic Party (FDP) to begin formal negotiations on a coalition government, dismayed Germans have found themselves back at square one.<\/p>\n

The talks followed the poor performance of Merkel\u2019s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in the 24 September federal election, where it gained just 32.9% of the vote<\/a>. Merkel was expected to be able to sit down with the CDU\u2019s Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union, to negotiate a coalition arrangement with the FDP, Germany\u2019s economic liberals, and the Greens.<\/p>\n

When the FDP walked out of the talks late on Sunday night, it became clear that the next government would not be formed by what was dubbed the \u2018Jamaica\u2019 coalition of CDU, CSU, the Greens and FDP\u2014the parties\u2019 colours resemble the island state\u2019s flag. The main (and pretty much only) explanation provided by FDP leader Christian Lindner was that his party sensed a \u2018lack of trust\u2019 in the negotiations. Consequently, he said, the liberals preferred to not govern at all rather than to govern the \u2018wrong way\u2019.<\/p>\n

The main issues of disagreement were climate change and refugee policy. The viewpoints differ significantly: the CSU wants to cut back on migration and the Greens argue against limiting the family reunification program. An initial deadline was extended from Friday to Sunday when, at 13 minutes to midnight, Lindner announced to the media that he was quitting the talks. The FDP\u2019s approach was sharply criticised after it emerged that Lindner had not alerted the other parties in the talks before he told the media. The CDU and Greens delegations watched, in shock, as the FDP made its decision known on television. After seeing four weeks of exploratory talks going nowhere, an increasingly concerned German public might have expected a joint announcement from all of the parties involved.<\/p>\n

The FDP\u2019s strategy is curious. In the 2013 elections, the party failed to reach the threshold of 5% of the vote necessary to enter parliament for the first time in its history and therefore missed out on any seats. It bounced back in the latest election with 10.6% of the vote and had just returned to parliament. Quitting the talks might backfire on the FDP; 32% of those who responded to a recent poll <\/a>blamed it for the failure of the talks.<\/p>\n

So, what happens next? There appear to be three possibilities:<\/p>\n