Posted on 10/09/2005 5:51:08 PM PDT by Aussie Dasher
GERMAN Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder met his conservative rival Angela Merkel on the weekend amid reports he was ready to concede defeat and allow her to become chancellor.
The political stalemate caused by inconclusive elections three weeks earlier appeared to be nearing a solution, but no decision will be announced until Monday (local time).
Ms Merkel and Mr Schroeder were to hold a further meeting after the outcome of Sunday's talks had been put to their respective party leaderships.
The leaders maintained their promise not to comment after Sunday's discussions, just as they stayed silent after their first leadership summit on Thursday.
A deal on the chancellery would pave the way for a so-called grand coalition stretching across the traditional right-left party lines, last seen in Germany in the 1960s.
"We will not know until midday tomorrow whether we can have negotiations (on the coalition government)," said the Social Democrats' party chief Franz Muentefering, who also took part in Sunday's meeting.
One magazine report at the weekend said the price of allowing Ms Merkel to be chancellor would be two extra cabinet posts for the Social Democrats.
The magazine said the most likely outcome was a 14-member government headed by Angela Merkel with eight cabinet posts for the Social Democrats and six for her centre-right Christian Democrat alliance.
While both sides have refused to comment on such speculation, Mr Schroeder was coming under intense pressure finally to step down after refusing to go when his party finished just four seats behind the conservatives in the election.
When neither could form a coalition with their preferred allies, they were forced into a power-sharing deal.
Yet Chancellor Schroeder has sought to show that he is not preparing to quit, dismissing suggestions that his trip to Saint Petersburg on Friday to celebrate Russian President Vladimir Putin's birthday was "a farewell visit".
Many observers have seen his refusal to stand aside as an audacious attempt to cling to power, but others see him playing political poker to ensure the best possible deal for the Social Democrats in a coalition government.
A leading member of Mr Schroeder's outgoing centre-left administration, Interior Minister Otto Schily, renewed calls for a solution that would see Mr Schroeder remain chancellor for two years with Ms Merkel taking over for the next two years.
"It would strengthen the necessary trust of both parties in each other and would stabilize a grand coalition," Mr Schily told Sunday's edition of the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper.
Wolfgang Bosbach, who heads the parliamentary party of Ms Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU), said he was concerned Ms Merkel would concede too much in her bid to secure the top job.
"We must be careful that we don't end up with a Social Democrat government with Angela Merkel as chancellor," he said.
The party leaders have warned that even if a deal is announced on Monday, it could be several weeks before a government is formed.
Is he a graduate of the 'Al Gore School of Gracious Losing"?
Bill Clinton is the founding father of the school.
He's gone and it couldn't happen to a nicer America hater.
From a history standing...Schroeder will be known as the guy who ran elections against America...not his opponent. It was a great tactic...just go against Bush or America...and you get another 10 percent of the vote. Its a great demonstration of how many dim-witted Germans exist and believe their number one concern is the dislike of the US. And while its readily a amall group of the entire country (probably 10 percent...certainly no more than that)....its a voting segment that you can call upon in every election.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.