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| German Coalition Hangs on a Vote by One Party | |
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| KAMEN, Germany — Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative Christian Democrats and their center-left Social Democratic rivals may have announced an agreement last month for a new coalition government for Germany, but there is still one obstacle left to clear: an up-or-down vote this week on the deal by all 474,820 members of the Social Democrats. | KAMEN, Germany — Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative Christian Democrats and their center-left Social Democratic rivals may have announced an agreement last month for a new coalition government for Germany, but there is still one obstacle left to clear: an up-or-down vote this week on the deal by all 474,820 members of the Social Democrats. |
| It is the first time that a German government has hinged on such an intraparty vote. Depending on who is doing the talking, the step is either an unprecedented display of direct democracy or a possibly unconstitutional exercise that gives one group unjustified sway over one of Europe’s largest and most important countries. | It is the first time that a German government has hinged on such an intraparty vote. Depending on who is doing the talking, the step is either an unprecedented display of direct democracy or a possibly unconstitutional exercise that gives one group unjustified sway over one of Europe’s largest and most important countries. |
| There is no doubt, however, that the situation has further extended the sense of limbo since national elections in September ended in a triumph for Ms. Merkel but left her five seats short of an absolute majority. | There is no doubt, however, that the situation has further extended the sense of limbo since national elections in September ended in a triumph for Ms. Merkel but left her five seats short of an absolute majority. |
| The Social Democrats have until Thursday to mail their ballots to party headquarters in Berlin. A result is expected by Sunday. If members approve the coalition, the next government could be sworn in two days later, almost three months after the elections. | The Social Democrats have until Thursday to mail their ballots to party headquarters in Berlin. A result is expected by Sunday. If members approve the coalition, the next government could be sworn in two days later, almost three months after the elections. |
| While pollsters and party leaders predict that partnership will be approved, the result is not necessarily guaranteed. The pact between the Christian Democratic Union and the Social Democrats has split the center-left party, with its 150-year history of championing society’s underdogs. | While pollsters and party leaders predict that partnership will be approved, the result is not necessarily guaranteed. The pact between the Christian Democratic Union and the Social Democrats has split the center-left party, with its 150-year history of championing society’s underdogs. |
| Some Social Democrats argue that they will be lost in a government with their main rivals; others proudly list elements of their election platform incorporated in the blueprint agreement — introduction of a national minimum wage, dual citizenship for children born to immigrants, increased spending for infrastructure and education — as a clear victory. | Some Social Democrats argue that they will be lost in a government with their main rivals; others proudly list elements of their election platform incorporated in the blueprint agreement — introduction of a national minimum wage, dual citizenship for children born to immigrants, increased spending for infrastructure and education — as a clear victory. |
| Given that the Social Democrats won just 25 percent support in the September election, the party vote has given them outsize leverage over the country’s future. | Given that the Social Democrats won just 25 percent support in the September election, the party vote has given them outsize leverage over the country’s future. |
| Since securing the agreement on Nov. 27, Social Democratic leaders, including the party chairman, Sigmar Gabriel, have crisscrossed the country to meet with the party faithful. If the vote fails, the speculation is that the leadership will almost certainly step down, a prospect that the leaders have been unwilling to discuss publicly but that is repeatedly raised at party meetings as one big reason to vote for the coalition. | Since securing the agreement on Nov. 27, Social Democratic leaders, including the party chairman, Sigmar Gabriel, have crisscrossed the country to meet with the party faithful. If the vote fails, the speculation is that the leadership will almost certainly step down, a prospect that the leaders have been unwilling to discuss publicly but that is repeatedly raised at party meetings as one big reason to vote for the coalition. |
| Proponents view the vote as a step that will help the Social Democrats stanch defections to the Greens, who previously laid unique claim to practicing direct democracy. Since the party vote was announced in the fall, membership has gone up by about 2,500 people, Mr. Gabriel said. | Proponents view the vote as a step that will help the Social Democrats stanch defections to the Greens, who previously laid unique claim to practicing direct democracy. Since the party vote was announced in the fall, membership has gone up by about 2,500 people, Mr. Gabriel said. |
| Critics contend that the vote is cumbersome and gives a select number of people inordinate influence. Some academics have questioned whether the process is in keeping with the Constitution. | Critics contend that the vote is cumbersome and gives a select number of people inordinate influence. Some academics have questioned whether the process is in keeping with the Constitution. |
| A hard-core leftist bloc, along with groups within the Social Democrats representing gays and students, has come out strongly against the proposed coalition government. The members cite the party’s previous experience in a coalition with the Christian Democrats and their sister regional party, the Christian Social Union in Bavaria, which ended in 2009. In the election that followed, the Social Democrats suffered their worst showing since World War II, winning just 23 percent of the vote. | A hard-core leftist bloc, along with groups within the Social Democrats representing gays and students, has come out strongly against the proposed coalition government. The members cite the party’s previous experience in a coalition with the Christian Democrats and their sister regional party, the Christian Social Union in Bavaria, which ended in 2009. In the election that followed, the Social Democrats suffered their worst showing since World War II, winning just 23 percent of the vote. |
| “I say vote no, because I believe that the Social Democrats need to build up something on their own if they are going to survive,” Klaus Knichel, an architect, said at a gathering last week in the former mining city of Oberhausen in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous state and traditionally a Social Democratic stronghold. | “I say vote no, because I believe that the Social Democrats need to build up something on their own if they are going to survive,” Klaus Knichel, an architect, said at a gathering last week in the former mining city of Oberhausen in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous state and traditionally a Social Democratic stronghold. |
| Michael Groschek, the state minister for construction, urban development and traffic in North Rhine-Westphalia, took the opposite view, asking, “If we say no, then what are the alternatives?” | Michael Groschek, the state minister for construction, urban development and traffic in North Rhine-Westphalia, took the opposite view, asking, “If we say no, then what are the alternatives?” |
| He added, “I don’t think voters would take kindly to the idea of the Social Democrats’ rejecting the minimum wage, better pensions and other points we wanted.” | He added, “I don’t think voters would take kindly to the idea of the Social Democrats’ rejecting the minimum wage, better pensions and other points we wanted.” |
| Labor unions play a strong role in the social and political landscape and remain close to the Social Democrats. Ugur Coskun, who heads the workers’ council at the TRW Automotive factory in Gelsenkirchen, said many employees had approached him to discuss the terms of the agreement. | Labor unions play a strong role in the social and political landscape and remain close to the Social Democrats. Ugur Coskun, who heads the workers’ council at the TRW Automotive factory in Gelsenkirchen, said many employees had approached him to discuss the terms of the agreement. |
| Like many Social Democrats, he said that the deal was not perfect but that it was enough of an improvement over four years of center-right rule that he believed it should be supported. He singled out the party’s push to ensure dual citizenship for young people born here to immigrants. | Like many Social Democrats, he said that the deal was not perfect but that it was enough of an improvement over four years of center-right rule that he believed it should be supported. He singled out the party’s push to ensure dual citizenship for young people born here to immigrants. |
| “It does not go as far as I would like it to go, but I believe it is a courageous step and one that none of the other parties have been willing to take,” Mr. Coskun said. “For that reason alone, we should support the agreement.” | “It does not go as far as I would like it to go, but I believe it is a courageous step and one that none of the other parties have been willing to take,” Mr. Coskun said. “For that reason alone, we should support the agreement.” |