On Monday, negotiators for the center-left Democrats (SPD) and for Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives will try to create compromises on the labor and healthcare policy, the final wall to break on the way to another grand coalition.
Both parties have agreed to take an additional day of negotiations after failing to hit the self-imposed deadline on Sunday, with the aim to reach a deal on renewing the coalition which monitored Europe’s biggest economy since the year 2013.
Progress was reached, according to both parties, the remaining differences were not overwhelming.
As stated by SPD negotiator Karl Lauterbach, the negotiations were headed into the “homestretch”.
Weighed on by the September elections which marked its worst postwar result, the SPD is seeking to get concessions that could potentially win over skeptics among the 443,000 members.
Merkel’s inability to gather together a new government in over four months, following the elections, has stirred unease among investors and partner countries, at a time when Europe is faced with several challenges, which includes Britain’s inevitable exit from the EU and the need for Eurozone reform.
Guenther Oettinger, the EU Budget Commissioner, told Rheinische Post newspaper that both parties should conclude a coalition deal as fast as possible, emphasizing the importance of the pending EU decisions on banking, asylum and budget matters.
As stated by SPD General Secretary Lars Klingbeil on Sunday, the deals about rents and real estate, digitalization and culture are already at their final stages, however, further work is still needed to finalize healthcare and labor.