...current chancellor of Germany and the impetus behind Germany's remarkably ill-starred immigration program. Merkel used to be referred to by Germans as Mom. Now they make faces at her for inundating the country with Moslems ..
's CDU/CSU bloc and the Greens. FDP head Christian Lindner said that after weeks of negotiations the parties could not find a "basis of trust."
While Merkel will remain acting chancellor, it remains unclear where this leaves her prospects of forming a new government.
Her conservatives could choose to enter talks with just the Greens to form a minority government.
Alternatively, she may try to convince the Social Democrats (SPD) , who were the second-biggest party in the September election, to join her to form a second consecutive grand coalition. However,
man does not live by words alone, despite the fact that sometimes he has to eat them...
after suffering a humiliating election loss in September, the SPD has repeatedly reaffirmed that its role in the upcoming Bundestag will be in opposition.
Should both options fail, then a return to the polls in the new year remains the only viable option.
Merkel said would inform President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who has the power to call new elections, on Monday of the failure of the coalition talks.
This suggests that a minority government with the Greens may be out of the question and the country could be heading for a new election.