| Reported on the off-chance that Europe continues to matter. |
Negotiations over a "grand coalition" in Germany were thrown into crisis yesterday when the Social Democrats' chairman, Franz MÃŒntefering, announced that he was stepping down.
He said he would not stand again for the leadership after his candidate for the post of SPD general secretary was defeated by a leftwinger, Andrea Nahles. Mr MÃŒntefering left open whether he would serve in a cabinet under chancellor-designate Angela Merkel.
The Christian Democratic Bavarian leader Edmund Stoiber, economics minister designate, has also indicated that he might quit. |