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🇩🇪 Germany /Elections & Politics

Coalition: SPD Turns Away from Chancellor Merz

From Süddeutsche Zeitung · () German

Translated from German and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Analysis Sources not specified Context piece
  • SPD leaders Bärbel Bas and Lars Klingbeil say the coalition cannot continue unchanged, while warning against plunging the government into chaos.
  • The party wants to discuss with Chancellor Friedrich Merz where the coalition is taking Germany and how reforms can improve citizens’ lives.
  • The debate follows the AfD’s strong result in Saxony-Anhalt, which the SPD sees as a reason to reconsider parts of its reform agenda.

The SPD is distancing itself from Chancellor Friedrich Merz, with party leaders signaling that the coalition cannot simply continue as before. When asked about confidence in the chancellor, Bärbel Bas and Lars Klingbeil exchanged a brief look before Bas answered.

“Going on like this is not possible,” Bas said. At the same time, she cautioned that throwing the federal government into chaos would not be the right response. The SPD, she argued, must change course without creating a deeper crisis for the coalition.

Going on like this is not possible.

· Bärbel BasBas described the coalition’s current course as unsustainable.

“But we have to change something.” Bas said the party now needed to discuss with Merz where the coalition was actually taking the country. Reform proposals, she added, needed to ease citizens’ fears and make their lives better.

The SPD is treating the AfD’s triumph in Saxony-Anhalt as a warning. As a consequence, the party wants to reopen negotiations over some reforms, reflecting growing doubts about Merz’s authority even within the coalition.

But we have to change something.

· Bärbel BasBas called for changes while rejecting a chaotic collapse of the government.
About this summary

Originally published by Süddeutsche Zeitung in German. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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