Talks between the top German parties on forming a new government for Chancellor Angela Merkel’s fourth term spilled into overtime today but confidence appeared to be growing they would strike a deal. More than four months after Germany’s general election, marathon weekend negotiations failed to yield the desired breakthrough on all outstanding differences.
However both sides sounded upbeat about the chance for an agreement by a self-imposed Tuesday deadline. As the parties returned to the negotiating table, a deputy leader of Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU), Volker Bouffier, admitted the talks could drag on until early tomorrow to iron out the final kinks.
Europe’s top economic power has been locked in political limbo since an inconclusive general election in September. Although Merkel and the CDU came out on top, they failed to secure a ruling majority, leading to the longest coalition negotiations in postwar history
