Angela Merkel Spared Disaster, and German Coalition Talks to Continue<br />Both the Christian Democrats and the center-left Social Democrats have lost ground to the political extremes in recent years,<br />and the collapse of voter support for the center left to 20 percent — the lowest level since 1933 — has raised existential fears among Social Democrats.<br />21, 2018<br />BONN, Germany — Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany escaped political disaster on Sunday, at least for now,<br />and inched a step closer to forming a new government after the Social Democrats voted in favor of entering formal coalition talks with her conservative camp.<br />And inside Germany, a hard-fought Bavarian election would mean Ms. Merkel’s conservative sister party, which has been losing<br />votes to the euroskeptic Alternative for Germany, may be in no mood to make concessions on overhauls in Europe.<br />But a major wild card remains: The Social Democrats’ grass roots — rebellious after sharing power with Ms.<br />Merkel led to their worst election result in more than 80 years — must approve any final coalition deal.<br />But some warned that another coalition straddling the center left<br />and center right could be a short-term fix with a high long-term cost: It would elevate the far-right Alternative for Germany as the biggest opposition party in Parliament.
