and spokesman for the c.d.u. c.s.u. home affairs committee in the german parliament thank you so much for spending at time with us mr meyer these polls aren't very encouraging for the chancellor many don't welcome the prospect of a grand coalition how confident are you that the leaders trying to hammer out a deal will be able to change people's minds. personally i'm very confident that all three parties are willing to conduct this negotiations in proper constructive way and all three parties and all three party leaders have the same object if to form a crown cushion certainly. a new crown coalition isn't very popular in our country but on the other hand you have to see we have three alternatives we have with the first tentative drawn coalition the second alternative a minority government and the third alternative would be new elections and it was just said the outcome wouldn't be very different from the outcome of the twenty the twenty fourth of september so. clearly in favor of the first alternative germany needs a sta

c.d.u. and the c.s.u. . well the conservatives on meeting right behind me they have just arriving but very insistent party is meeting tomorrow we've been hearing from them that they said look we are not going to make any more concessions we are going to take the results of these exploratory talks and take them into the coalition talks but we're not going to make concessions to the social democrats so the big question here is how far are the conservatives willing to go to make the social democrats happy in the long run so they can take up the vote with their membership base which will after the coalition talks vote on whether this new government will actually be in place or not so it's going to be some interesting weeks on this road to a new german government which if everything goes well we might see in the beginning of april so still a long time to go. the cat out of the bag there this is not a done deal the members still have to vote for this and and what she's saying you know c.d.u. and c.s.u. don't want

well then there are two options really german chancellor merkel's c.d.u. c.s.u. could go ahead and form what's called a minority government where it would have to seek new alliances thematic lee something many people hailed as reviving parliament as a key institution of democracy but sometimes on the macro itself is pretty much ruled that out she said that she doesn't really see that as a viable option particularly to have a strong and stable germany the other option would be fresh elections that could become a rather long drawn process that could take another couple of months here and money but there's also a growing creeping suspicion here that that stability that strong germany everybody's talking about isn't is no longer necessarily pegged to the name angle americal in the future if these this bid to form a coalition fails and that certainly is a risk for her that she clearly has in mind when she's going into these tools thank you to all of you michelle in berlin barbara vale of brussels lisa lewis in paris and in london good to talk to you. now to some other

c.s.u. and c.d.u. have really patched up that relationship since the election to try and push forward to create a stable government that i so desperately seeking at the moment but of course there's also the main point that it within the c.d.u. there's no real success to mco and regardless of what happens that is going to be a real focus for the cd even the conservatives in the community as as right now there is no alternative to matter so there will be a push to develop new leadership in the future keep brady thanks very much for breaking down the numbers for us this friday morning. north and south korea have agreed to hold their first formal talks in more than two years that coming next tuesday the dialogue will pave the way for north korean athletes to attend the upcoming winter olympics in the south. wind came hours after the united states agreed to delay joint military exercises with south korea until after the olympic games the meeting is expected to be held january ninth at pomona jom in the mili

but the conservative c.d.u. c.s.u. blocks willingness to revisit prior agreements is limited because we will flesh out what we unanimously agreed in the exploratory treaty that is we will go in-depth on those issues but we will reopen talks on what we've already rejected. in some deals but. nonetheless many germans seem relieved over the social democrats decision on sunday i'd go to the start i think they should get on with forming the grand coalition they should pull together and get something done now so that things can finally move forward to stand up being one of my own people and get on planes and i think they should take their mandate seriously and on the government of the kyoto protocol. now the leaders of the three parties will define the schedule for the coalition to go she ations. has joined the w political correspondent simon young who is outside c.d.u. had quarters and welcome simon so the conservative party heads are going to back off for the c.d.u. and they offer the c.s.u. a meeting what can we expect to

economists seem to think it's all been much ado about nothing responses to the outcome of the c.d.u. c.s.u. s.p.d. exploratory talks on a new coalition with decidedly low key german chamber of commerce president eric's writer was disappointed he said this willingness to enter into workable compromise was still fails to adequately address important future issues in many areas there's still no into the competitive tax reform there is frustration that although taxes here won't be raised they also won't be cut for business while countries like the u.s. france and britain have all pledged corporate tax cuts. exporters association president holds a big man said the result is not forward looking and is anything but a fresh start. others would also hope for more ideas and bounce when it comes to digitalisation they say the results are all very middle of the road. but it's not the big breakthrough but it's going to it's going to support the the current strength of the german economy it has all the right ingredients we're going to get a bit of tax relief we're going to get more investment in digital

he would also take into proper negotiations the big question now is whether under the magical c.d.u. c.s.u. party will really stretch out its hand and give him more to go back to his own party with so expectations on both sides and we have a clip i believe of what chancellor angela merkel had to say about the social democrats decision a little earlier. not in the city of following to see hughes conclusion of exploratory talks last week which cleared the way for formal coalition talks we welcome the news that the social democrats have followed suit at their party conference today. after intensive and sometimes controversial discussions they reached a positive result that means the way is now clear for formal coalition talks. what's important to us in these talks is that germany gets a stable government that is able to tackle the questions and issues of the future and find solutions to them. but that's more we will discuss the line of negotiations tomorrow and then quickly enter a discussion with the social democrats a great deal of work lies ahead but despite all internal controversies it s

is you the conservative party bloc of anglo american the c.d.u. c.s.u. and especially the c. is you the small of the two parties is more conservative and they have already pointed out that they want to be more strict on refugee policy that they want to have. less integration into europe on one to cut corporate taxes something especially the social democrats are absolutely opposed to so the social democrats on the other side they are very reluctant to go again into this grand coalition as it is called here in germany as they have been in a grand coalition for the past four years and it didn't serve them at all they also we have to remember made. worst election result in the park city since world war two so they are very reluctant to go into these party talks and then in the end there's chancellor merkel c.d.u. party and that's the only party that has remained calm and during the last weeks they are the only ones that really say yes we want to have this coalition we want we need this prime coalition. seems to be the last chance fungal americal to remain chancellor all right so

policy and more integration into europe then on the other side within his conservative party bloc c.d.u. c.s.u. the small of the two parties you see as hugh they feel the breath of that they feel in their neck the breath of the right wing populist have deep parties so they want to push. the c.d.u. and seize you into a more conservative direction they want to have a more tougher stance on refugee policy so they want to cut corporate taxes and they they also want to have a less integration into europe and that's the the key problem here. in the middle between these two parties is uncle americal and her c.d.u. and they know that the only chance to keep anglo-american in power as chancellor is this coalition. is this nichols last chance to form a stable government. but it is her last chance to form a government with a clear majority in parliament the only other option would be listen together with the business friendly liberals and the center left green party she already tried that one but this these talks failed already at the end of last here so the only other option would be a minority governme

especially in the wake of this election really saw poor results for the center party so of course the c.d.u. c.s.u. and the s.p.d. the two parties that will presumably form this grand coalition here. you know what does that mean going forward would you say of course i think they will not be able to continue like the they did in the last four years so they will have to find new policies that actually talk to to the citizens because this is probably the most dangerous situation when the politicians or the elite is a distant from from the citizens so this would be this would lead more support for to more support for the right wing of the right so there will definitely have to be new policy plans just briefly before we go what's coming next and next will be then the party convention by the social democrats where they offer surely have to agree on the starting official coalition to go she ations and then if they are successful then we will see a referendum for the social democrat members. and across political scientists at the humboldt university here in berlin an expert in coalition governments we tha

you said there's a sigh of relief when she was making it clear in her statement that the see her c.d.u. c.s.u. her conservative alliance is working for steam ahead where do they go from from there what are the next steps. well yeah you could certainly hear an eagerness to get things going to start the formal coalition talks and that is what we'll see in the next days if it's tomorrow that might be a bit early but we'll see them taking up form a coalition talks with the social democrats in the coming days and those will last for well it could be up to several weeks that we're seeing a very tough negotiations from both sides here in berlin and then after that when they are coming out with the results of these coalition talks they will be actually brought to the social democratic member base four hundred and forty thousand members will have to vote on the official results of those coalition talks and it's going to be very interesting weeks and months ahead here in berlin. we saw that this vote came down to the wire here and ultimately it's going to be this s.p.d. members around germany who are g

new elections were held this sunday germans would not vote much differently than a month ago the c.d.u. c.s.u. would receive thirty three percent of the vote the s.p.d. twenty one percent the f.t. would get thirteen percent of the vote and the f.d.p. nine percent the left party would also get nine percent and the green party eleven percent subtle variations only with the conservatives and the left party. and those survey results will no doubt be of interest to members of chancellor angela merkel sister party the c.s.u. they are gathering in bavaria for their annual winter meeting among those joining the conservative politicians as controversial and garion leader viktor orbán seen here in this video in a pink tie and see him there. now he is said to deliver a speech to delegates prime minister orbán is a long standing and vocal critic of angela merkel's refugee policy calling it a trojan horse of terrorism. for more let's bring in our political correspondent who is covering the c.s.u. party meeting welcome to you make it seems like an affront to the chancellor to invite viktor orban to this me

apparently there has been a breakthrough in pre-columbian talks to form a german government between the c.d.u. c.s.u. and s.p.d. we are following the story for you and we are standing by for any press conferences that are likely to ensue. but in the meantime here at the w. would like to get you a check of some other stories that have been making news around the world in japan more than. four hundred people were stranded on a train overnight after heavy snow the train got stuck some three hundred kilometers northwest of tokyo officials decided against evacuating passengers until daybreak some parts of northern japan have seen ten times the average snowfall this winter. saudi arabia's first car show geared to women drivers has opened at a shopping mall in the city of jeddah the exhibition is taking place just months after king solomon ordered an end to the country's ban on women driving saudi women are due to take to the roads in jail. in tunisia an emergency meeting is planned between the main political parties and businesses they want to find a solution to the wave of protests gripping the country d

in terms of the content i'm very satisfied with the future the c.d.u. c.s.u. and the s.p.d. have agreed upon. it's a significantly positive force looking contribution to the debates on european policy and therefore very satisfying to me even though i'm never truly satisfied when it comes to politics. and mantis is covering that story for us from brussels and he joins us now from new york some relief but also some caution by what. i had to say what do you mean by his comments. are wrong junkers of course a seasoned politician and he learned to be cautious so i'd say the paper takes a lot of boxes for him as a european politician but of course there are some questions open so when jungle juncker reads about the minimum rate for corporate taxes to be introduced in europe he of course wants to be more specific how high when he reads that the potential new german government would be prepared to pay more into the european budget he wants to know how much so overall i think one can say when he reads that the european integration is meant to be strengthened in the future that's boun

c.d.u. c.s.u. came together here today and that was obvious at the beginning of the preliminary talks we are all aware of the responsibility we carry for the future of germany and europe. does a seat cities everyone knows that it comes down to this week that the people expect to get a stable government and i think it's possible that we will have a good result by thursday that's what we will work on now so forming an alliance with the social democrats is the only live option for. the previous coalition talks with the green party and the free democrats collapsed two months ago the current political crisis is seen by some as the worst in germany in years. trying to size up michael's chances of resolving it to put together a coalition it takes a match angle has been desperate to make any match she hoped her party could match with the greens. but that plan also required matching what the p. or the free democrats are writes why appear to. but no it's a match pop ups angle almost got it right with the gre

convince the voters that there might be a bit more wiggle room and what they can get out of the c.d.u. c.s.u. let's run those remarks. these are the old and equally we're going to take the coalition negotiation seriously. negotiating means going back to the table on labor and health care and sunday we're going to negotiate until the other side squeals i can't promise you any more than that i don't know if we'll get one hundred percent of what we want probably not but we're going to negotiate and get small good results that's why voting yes today is worth it thank you johnston seeing john thank you. but there's charlotte i know you said the city you're in the c s you're going to be meeting in the chancellor read this evening have the wheels begun to emerge from the building. and sorry i didn't get that question sorry i was trying to make a bit of a joke about hundred dollars his remarks saying the s.p. do what will negotiate until the other side squeals here but i am not sure that that's going to be happening any time soon well. yeah we mean we are going to see this so the conservatives are m

new elections were held this sunday germans would not vote much differently than a month ago the c.d.u. c.s.u. would receive thirty three percent of the vote the s.p.d. twenty one percent the f.t. would get thirteen percent of the vote and the f.t.p. nine percent the left party would also get nine percent and the green party eleven percent subtle variations only with the conservatives and the left party. all right i'm joined now by our political correspondent kit brief for some analysis of these findings a grim reading for the chancellor what does it mean for the upcoming talks well these talks on sunday were clearly the social democrats as well as the conservatives of both going into those talks knowing that fifty two percent of germans are in fact against exactly what it is the discussing so clearly whatever comes out of these talks has to be a good deal if that even reaches actual coalition negotiations what happens if they don't reach a good deal if these talks fail what are the options are to the left for chance on going miracle or muckle them really has two options that is the choice of

new elections were held this sunday germans would not vote much differently than a month ago the c.d.u. c.s.u. would receive thirty three percent of the vote the s.p.d. twenty one percent the f.t. would get thirteen percent of the vote and the f.d.p. nine percent the left party would also get nine percent and the green party eleven percent subtle variations only with the conservatives and the left party. ok let's break down these numbers now with our political correspondent kate brady here in the suit studio good morning kate looking at these numbers what do they mean for the upcoming coalition talks this weekend it's quite clear that both the social democrats and the conservatives know that that current into these exploratory talks on sunday to discuss something which fifty two percent of germans quite clearly aren't all that keen on and so they know that if this is going to work or if these exploratory talks are going to move on to coalition negotiations for a grand coalition and the deal has to be very very good forty five percent of germans are in favor of this grand coalition which seems

chelsea i mean they had bad experiences right so they whenever they were a coalition with with the c.d.u. c.s.u. they lost a number of votes and they also saying that policy wise they couldn't really. come forward could not be brooke restive as they want to and i specially with the conservatives so this is why they're against it still you've crossed from buildings from both university thank you. as take a look at some of the other stories making news around the world here in germany clean up works under way in the wake of worst storms to hit the open group in a decade or two fredricka killed at least twelve people and to ensure insurers here estimate the storm caused some five hundred million euros worth of damage but its national group of scientists say they have developed a blood test that screens for multiple types of cancer researchers say further studies needed before the cancer seek test can be made widely available for the projected cost of around five hundred dollars. the husband of german journalist i'm a challis tolu has been rearrested in turkey just weeks after he and his wife were

be on the deadline but certainly all sides involved both the social democrats and the american c.d.u. c.s.u. conservative camp have a lot to lose if they don't manage to put anything together here and we're getting the odd leak but many of those issues are pressing issues here in germany anyway what we're not getting is exact details so this is supposed to be an immigration law for skilled workers but how exactly what would that look like this is what democrats wanted a point system and the conservatives were more reluctant to have such an alternate matic kind of scoring in place there so those details hopefully we will get by the end of these negotiations if all parties agree to go forward the first stumbling block would be the social democrat party convention on the twenty first and then this would be put to a vote so we're still weeks and months away from germany actually being able to give anstice on the pressure pressing issues and pressing questions in modern macor france has asked on the schedule in brussels as we head into the summer break that brings us to you in brussels or how wo

economists seem to think it's all been much ado about nothing responses to the outcome of the c.d.u. c.s.u. s.p.d. exploratory talks on a new coalition with decidedly low key german chamber of commerce president erik's rights and was disappointed he said this willingness to enter into workable compromise is still fails to adequately address important future issues in many areas there's still no into the competitive tax reform. there is frustration that although taxes here won't be raised they also won't be cut for business while countries like the u.s. france and britain have all pledged corporate tax cuts. exporters association president holds a big man said the result is not forward looking and is anything but a fresh start. others should also hope for more ideas and bounce when it comes to digitalisation they say the results are all very middle of the road. but it's not the big breakthrough but it's going to it's going to support the the current strength of the german economy it has all the right ingredients we're going to get a bit of tax relief we're going to get more investment in di

agree but we certainly saw the kind of the the kind of more conservative end of the conservative c.d.u. c.s.u. sister party in bavaria laid down the law of the weekend they had a gathering where i was and they made it particularly hard for the social democrats to give ground on that issue of migration that so is on people's minds i mean the polls are showing that people also killed a lot about the bread and butter issues but migration really is the one where there are key differences like whether to allow migrants who don't enjoy full protection to bring their family members here now that's something the public is also concerned about that more migrants could come here to germany whether germany can actually code here the c.d.u. is making it very difficult for the social democrats to give ground because they do need a success they need to keep success to actually get the grassroots who will have the final say in the end whether there is a deal to actually play ball and. with another grand coalition that's just one example but also on health issues there is a big question that the concept to s

accuracy i mean they had bad experiences right so they whenever they were a coalition with with the c.d.u. c.s.u. they lost a number of votes and they also think that policy wise they couldn't really. come forward could not be brooke restive as they want to i specially with the conservatives so this is why they're against it so you cross from university thank you come. welcome to business news and funny for char it's d. economy stupid that was holbrooke clinton won the us presidency in one thousand nine hundred ninety two not knowing that it's him donald trump who were drawn on that very same idea over two decades later against his wife hillary but trump didn't only run he also won one year into his presidency let's have a look at how trump performed was his good for business as he said he would be well he quickly created some top jobs for sure in his administration one of them went to rex tillerson the former c.e.o. of exxon mobil became secretary of state and just weeks ago president trump opened up formerly protected waters along the east and west coast for drowning big business for big oil l

but the conservative c.d.u. c.s.u. blocks willingness to revisit prior agreements is limited they can and we will flesh out what we unanimously agreed in the exploratory treaty that is we will go in-depth on those issues but we will reopen talks on what we've already rejected. nonetheless many germans seem relieved over the social democrats decision on sunday are you guys going to start i think they should get on with forming the grand coalition they should pull together and get something done out so that things can finally move forward not just on the playing one that's my own before. i'm playing today and i think they should take their mandate seriously and all my government. now the leaders of the three parties will define the schedule for the coalition negotiations. those talks begin tonight. young side they say to you had quotas. welcome simon you. walk away expect to come out of these talks. well phil tonight's talks between the three party leaders are essentially focusing on the organizational aspects of this fa

in the upcoming negotiation talks because then they will have some sort of leverage against the c.d.u. c.s.u. what will party leader martin schultz have to deliver in order to get the skeptics on board with all of this. because he has to convince the rank and file the whole the whole party all the party members are going to be able to vote on any deal that's hammered out they has to get them on board what does he have to deliver well first of all i think it's important that they take care of the child market policies but also. and maybe also with who got that health insurance even though the conservatives have already said that they will not negotiate about a civic insurance but he will also have to mobilize the members right because it's always easier to mobilize against something than in favor of something ok back to you. during that vote among the party delegates on sunday they didn't even manage to get sixty percent in favor of a deal is there a real danger that the party rank and file will torpedo any coalition agreement. i think this will be another very very exciting moment in this wh

c.s.u. and c.d.u. the conservative parties here have taken a lot more of a conservative stance towards germany's refugee policy and also the social democrats who were against any blanket policies on germany's refugee policy so this was always going to be difficult especially with the c.s.u. that's the bavarian system party to angela merkel's c.d.u. and they are very much against letting more refugees in to germany and so this was always going to be quite difficult so under the what where and saying is the agreement that's come out of the negotiations so far is that family. family reunions for refugees who wish to bring their family to germany will remain suspended until the thirty first of july and they say after from the thirty first of july on once there will be a monthly cap of one thousand people but on top of this and this is what is being kind of sold as the win for the social democrats is that there will also be some cases of extreme hardship so this could include refugees who have been given su

mark is what happens to asylum seekers that we have the conservative edge of going to michael c.d.u. c.s.u. coalition calling for less money actually less benefits going towards asylum seekers also for an extension of basically what is a poor is in letting those with lesser protection bring their relatives here to germany so it's all about how many people would potentially come here to germany and there's the big issue of social justice where the social democrats felt they weren't really able to get that message across that that's what they stand for well you know if they managed to deliver a complete change in germany as health care would it didn't look like one when we heard from delegates before these talks started here really this is the democrats are adamant that they will keep fighting for this the big question is what will be the big. issue that this is the democrats can deliver on sway their own supporters their own party to actually go for yet another coalition government ok so obstacles remain but if these exploratory talks are successful today what happens next what's the roadma

mark is what happens to asylum seekers that we have the conservative edge of going to michael c.d.u. c.s.u. coalition calling for less money actually less benefits going towards asylum seekers also for an extension of basically what is a poor is in letting those with lesser protection bring their relatives here to germany so it's all about how many people would potentially come here to germany and there's the big issue of social justice where the social democrats felt they weren't really able to get that message across that that's what they stand for well you know if they managed to deliver a complete change in germany as health care would it didn't look like one when we heard from delegates before these talks started here really this is the democrats are adamant that they will keep fighting for this the big question is what will be the big. issue that this is the democrats can deliver on the way their own supporters their own party to actually go for yet another coalition government ok so obstacles remain but if these exploratory talks are successful today what happens next what's the roa

terms of the content i'm very satisfied with the future the c.d.u. c.s.u. and the s.p.d. have agreed upon. it's a significantly positive force looking contribution to the debate on european policy and therefore very satisfying to even though i'm never truly satisfied when it comes to politics to me. this is covering that story for us from gus's and he joins us now from new york some relief but also some caution by what. i had to say what do you mean by his comments. are wrong junkers of course a seasoned politician and he learned to be cautious so i'd say the paper takes a lot of boxes for him as a european politician but of course there are some questions open so when jungle juncker reads about the minimum rate for corporate taxes to be introduced in europe he of course wants to be more specific how high when he reads that the potential new german government would be prepared to pay more into the european budget he wants to know how much so overall i think one can say when he reads that the european integration is meant to be strengthened in the future that's bound to be

c.s.u. that's the bavarian system party of mccall's c.d.u. that trying to push the conservatives into a more traditionally conservative position in parliament and one of the main issues is family reunions and germany's refugee policy and that's something that they want to take a tougher stance on wires the social democrats for example they want to take a lot more liberal approach to germany's refugee policy and would you say that this is merkel's last chance to form a stable government well it certainly hope last chance to create a government that has a clear majority in parliament and if these exploratory talks don't actually make any progress and reach coalition ago c.-h. and then she does still have two options on the table neither of which the two leading parliamentary groups are very keen on one of course is the minority government which michael has said on countless occasions that she's against and the other option would be new elections and that also isn't favored by either of those the social democrats all the conservatives there's al

c.d.u. the c.s.u. the conservatives to what we just saw take place in bonn. good evening brant know we have not had any immediate reactions but we know that there must have been a sigh of relief also coming from the chancellor you see in the background we know that america has been watching this vote of course very closely it was also a make or break moment for her and for her conservatives they are meeting though later tonight at around seven pm berlin time to discuss how. to go ahead on these coalition talks we know that the conservatives now want to really get the ball rolling that they want to start the coalition talks as soon as possible because everybody knows that even if everything goes right from here on out that there won't be a new government in place before easter before the baby beginning of april so for sure a sigh of relief within the conservative party and they want to get things started now and ask you to speculate here but the question has arisen whether or not the s.p.d. leadership was in contact with maybe the chance that were the c.d.u. l

c.s.u. so that's the bavarian system party to merkel c.d.u. and since the arrival of success of the far right a.f.c. in germany and their entrance into parliament in september and they've been very keen to take the conservative parliamentary group into a much more conservative direction and they're looking to implement cuts. corporate taxes and actually take a much tougher stance on the refugee policy so there are a lot of issues going to be needed to overcome to be overcome if these exploratory talks have any chance of moving on to order a coalition a go see ations case is this last chance to form a stable government. well it's certainly her last chance to form a government that has a clear majority in the german parliament if these talks fail the us still two other options on the table and one of those is a minority government but this is something that merkel has already ruled out that we quite grueling process for her you have to find a new majority for every piece of legislation and the other option of course would be new elections and th

c.s.u. this is the sister party of merkel c.d.u. had to say about their unpopularity with the german people. this is the right response to september the election all three of us were far from impressed with the results like there was a signal to politicians that things can't continue down this path anymore. so what's in this new blueprint that spin agreed on well one of the things that the c.d.u. and the social democrats have agreed on is that they will look to limit the number of migrants coming into germany asylum seekers and refugees that would be between one hundred eighty and two hundred and twenty thousand people limited annually that also be no tax increases and there would be more money for the e.u. but this is us. small step on a long path to go there is very tricky from here on out the social democrats have to take this blueprint back to their party members their party members have to approve it that vote will take place on january twenty first if it's approved then they can start formal coalition to go stations but then w