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Leader of Social Democrats, Merkel’s Coalition Partner, Announces Resignation Leader of Social Democrats, Merkel’s Coalition Partner, Is Resigning
(about 4 hours later)
The leader of Germany’s Social Democrats, the junior partner in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition, announced on Sunday that she was resigning, raising fresh questions about the stability of the government after a weak showing by the governing parties in the elections for the European Parliament. The leader of Germany’s Social Democrats, the junior partner in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s governing coalition, announced her resignation on Sunday, raising new questions about the government’s future, a week after the parties lost support in the elections for the European Parliament.
The Social Democrats’ leader, Andrea Nahles, was elected in April 2018, bringing hope of reuniting the center-left party that was bleeding support and had suffered its worst showing in 155 years in the 2017 general election. The party leader, Andrea Nahles, said in a statement sent to Social Democratic members on Sunday, “The discussions within the parliamentary faction and feedback from within the party have shown me that I no longer have the necessary support to carry out my duties.”
But after more than a year under her leadership, the Social Democrats’ popularity has plunged further, earning only 15.8 percent support nationwide during the balloting for the European Parliament a week ago.
Ms. Nahles said in a statement sent to party members on Sunday that, “The discussions within the parliamentary faction and feedback from within the party have shown me that I no longer have the necessary support to carry out my duties.”
She said she would formally hand in her resignation on Monday.She said she would formally hand in her resignation on Monday.
The announcement came with Ms. Nahles under intense pressure from the left-wing section of her party, whose members view quitting Ms. Merkel’s government as the only chance to re-orientate the center-left Social Democrats, who have bled support since first entering into the coalition with the conservatives in 2005. Political observers noted that Ms. Nahles’s departure could strengthen the left-wing of the Social Democrats, spelling doom for the party’s willingness to remain in the unloved coalition government.
“The situation is dramatic,” said Thorsten Faas, a professor of political science at Berlin’s Free University. “The opponents of the grand coalition within the Social Democrats clearly have the momentum right now.”
Ms. Nahles, 48, was elected to lead the center-left party in April 2018, after being coaxed into a third coalition government with Mrs. Merkel’s conservative Christian Democratic Union. She is the first woman to lead the Social Democrats and had vowed to rebuild and reunite the party after it suffered its worst showing in 155 years in the 2017 general election.
But after more than a year of her leadership, the Social Democrats’ popularity plunged further, earning only 15.8 percent of support nationwide during the balloting for the European Parliament a week ago. The party also lost control of Bremen, a state that had been in Social Democratic hands for more than seven decades.
The losses last Sunday prompted a debate within the party over Ms. Nahles’s ability to lead; she had already called for an easy vote next Tuesday over her position as parliamentary whip.
Voters also punished the conservatives in Sunday’s election, where they received less than 30 percent of the vote, reflecting the deep unpopularity of the coalition between the country’s two traditional, mainstream parties. Ms. Nahles’s decision now threw into question how long that constellation could remain in office.
Ms. Merkel has repeatedly stressed that she intends to serve out her fourth term, which would normally end in the fall of 2021. Conservative leaders were to convene later on Sunday to discuss their own record poor showing in the European election.
The announcement that Ms. Nahles would formally depart on Monday came after intense pressure from the left-wing section of her party, whose members view quitting Ms. Merkel’s government as the only chance to re-orientate the center-left Social Democrats. The party has bled support since first entering into the coalition with the conservatives, in 2005, losing support to both the leftist-environmentalist Greens and the far-right Alternative for Germany, or A.F.D.
A nationwide poll released on Saturday showed the Greens emerging as Germany’s most popular political party for the first time since the party’s founding, in 1993. The Social Democrats came in third, behind the conservatives and one point ahead of the A.FD.
Although another poll released on Sunday showed the conservatives in the lead, the two surveys reflected the volatility of the political landscape in Germany, Europe’s largest economy and a source of stability over the past decade.
In an interview published on Sunday before Ms. Nahles’s announced departure, Olaf Scholz, a member of the Social Democrats who serves as Germany’s finance minister and vice chancellor, told the newspaper Tagesspiegel that the party had ruled out entering another governing coalition with Ms. Merkel’s conservative bloc, known as a “grand coalition.”In an interview published on Sunday before Ms. Nahles’s announced departure, Olaf Scholz, a member of the Social Democrats who serves as Germany’s finance minister and vice chancellor, told the newspaper Tagesspiegel that the party had ruled out entering another governing coalition with Ms. Merkel’s conservative bloc, known as a “grand coalition.”
“Three grand coalitions in a row would not do democracy in Germany any good,” Mr. Scholz said. “Nobody would like to see the current coalition continued after 2021, not the people, not the conservatives and certainly not us Social Democrats,” he added.“Three grand coalitions in a row would not do democracy in Germany any good,” Mr. Scholz said. “Nobody would like to see the current coalition continued after 2021, not the people, not the conservatives and certainly not us Social Democrats,” he added.
Ms. Nahles’s resignation statement came hours before the leaders of the Christian Democrats, Ms. Merkel’s party, were to convene to discuss their own record poor showing in the European election, in which the conservative bloc dropped below 30 percent support.
Ms. Nahles, who served as labor minister in the Social Democrats’ previous coalition with the conservatives, helped to form the current coalition and has been critical to the government’s survival. Her departure raises questions about who, within her party, could fill that role.Ms. Nahles, who served as labor minister in the Social Democrats’ previous coalition with the conservatives, helped to form the current coalition and has been critical to the government’s survival. Her departure raises questions about who, within her party, could fill that role.
The Social Democrats have failed to reinvent a modern narrative for the party’s traditional role as a champion of social justice and workers’ rights in the era of globalization and have struggled to define themselves in the shadow of the chancellor.The Social Democrats have failed to reinvent a modern narrative for the party’s traditional role as a champion of social justice and workers’ rights in the era of globalization and have struggled to define themselves in the shadow of the chancellor.
Ms. Merkel, who was awarded an honorary doctorate at Harvard University last week, was praised for introducing a minimum wage and same-sex marriage — both policies introduced by the Social Democrats.Ms. Merkel, who was awarded an honorary doctorate at Harvard University last week, was praised for introducing a minimum wage and same-sex marriage — both policies introduced by the Social Democrats.