losing patience the numbers are even worse for her potential coalition partners the social democrats germany center left party is looking at its lowest approval ratings ever. germany's social democrats need to regroup they're still the second largest party in parliament but their standing has been flagging since the party's poor election results last september the latest polls suggest if people voted now chancellor angela merkel's conservatives would score thirty three percent of the vote far ahead of the s.p.d. which would get only eighteen percent and that's just four points ahead of the far right alternative for germany party which would score fourteen percent the business

and the leadership of germany's social democrat party start a fresh push to persuade members to vote for the coalition deal the ongoing battles conservatives failure could meet a new connection for many prospects to die to come to a place. to the program for south africa's president is hiding his position despite an ultimatum from his party that he leave today or face a no confidence vote in parliament speaking on state television jacob zuma described the n.c.s. moves against him as unfair and said their arguments are wrong. president zuma remains defiant in a live television interview he responded to his party's calls to resign i need to be friendly. on what i have done unfortunately. no one has been able to provide what you say to that have done so i found it very strange that i'm going to be told by my organization knew now must go. because. we now have to know president who must come in. not to follow in any policy of the in c. there is nothing more that makes. early is in his party the african national congress agreed to remove him his refusal sets the stage for a no confidence

the leaders of germany social democratic party are set to begin a campaign to win their party's backing for a coalition deal reached earlier this week with chancellor angela merkel's conservatives. and they have not less hope to convince nearly half a million party members to vote in favor of the agreement polls suggest a narrow majority will do so clearing the final hurdle for germany to form a new government but opposition to the deal has been spearheaded by members of the social democrats view swaying there calling it a betrayal of the party's values. was talked about a close enough she's the reasonable chair of the young socialists here in berlin as the youth wing of the s.p.d. party thanks for being with us today you we've talked just a couple of weeks ago about this i know you're a strong opponent of the grand coalition the party's future the future of this grand coalition is in your hands essentially because you get to vote on it all of the members of the s.p.d. get to vote on it how are you going to vote i'm going to vote against the credits and contract that's for sure because

germany social democratic parties until more after party leader martin schulz stepped down the move throws a coalition deal with chancellor angela merkel's conservatives into doubt after almost five months without a new government and the analysis received the official endorsement of the party's executive committee it still needs the approval from the rank and file of the party . and exactly one year ago today that german journalist a dentist your child was jailed by turkish authorities they accuse him of terrorism and espionage charges burton says a politically motivated the german government is renewing cause for you just released and now it seems there's new hope the turkish prime minister has indicated they might be movement on the case soon it's been weighing heavily on german turkish relations. his colleagues in berlin are not giving up. as they've been campaigning for dentistry just released since he was imprisoned a year ago the hash tag free dan is in plays and on the roof of his newspaper's offices. future as seen here on a truck show shortly before his arrest because according t

and germany's social democratic party leader martin scholtz has announced his resignation with immediate a fact his decision comes after he lost out in the german election to chancellor angela merkel and then faced criticism over agreeing to a grand coalition government for a second time he said his decision will allow the party to refresh itself and come back stronger. yes you did all. this big you need to compute when you will put organization including its personnel and this is the urgent wish of the party members with my resignation and also the relinquishment of my federal government membership i want to help bring an end to this debate and then allow monitors to really focus on coalition the green party. with the background to this decision here's how the debate is going. we know that resignations is something that martin schultz's done well in the past he actually resigned his job as the president of the european parliament last year because he said he wanted to fight the german elections and to become the chancellor of germany as we know in those elections in september he failed

the top brass of germany's social democratic party start a fresh push to persuade members to vote for a coalition deal with. failure could bring a new election for many a prospect to try to contemplate. the flying tomato lives at the top of the podium at the winter olympics we'll tell you how american snowboarder shaun white managed call. me. i feel gail welcome to the program south africa's president is refusing to resign despite an ultimatum from his party that he leave today or face a vote of no confidence in parliament speaking on state television jacob zuma described the end sees moves against him as unfair and said the arguments are wrong . president zuma remains defiant in a live television interview he responded to his party's calls to resign i need to be friendly. on what i have done unfortunately. no one has been able to provide what is it about done where found it very strange that. you must go. because. we now have two new president must come in. not to follow in any policy of the in c. there is nothing of that nature. early is in his party the african national congress ag

this picture and he's posted he's also enjoying the show the leader of the youth wing of germany social democratic party says that if he'd been offered the story he'd have immediately known something was wrong. but i don't know but this group but of course we would refuse any of these offers we don't work with social mobs i don't have information that will even received and yours was. one of the people behind the prank told us how planting the story turned out to be remarkably easy. we at atlanta go over to rick a magazine we work with the same. methods as a built so we knew how to think like and build editor and what we did was we came up with a story that was techie and like in the spine movie as you just set and we had a good feeling that this would work especially with built as the lady ran a campaign against the s.p.d. a social democratic party which kevin not as a part of. our intent was to spin this story more further you know there seems to be no election in the past years where there wasn't talk of russian meddling or interference but this s.p.d. voting which is now evident in germany about whe

would actually supported the numbers are even worse for her potential partners the social democrats germany sense of left party is looking at its lowest ever approval ratings. germany social democrats need to regroup there's still the second largest party in parliament but their standing has been flagging since the party's poor election results last september the latest polls suggest if people voted now chancellor angela merkel's conservatives would score thirty three percent of the vote far ahead of the s.p.d. which would get only eighteen percent. and that's just four points ahead of the far right alternative for germany party which would score fourteen percent the business friendly f.t.p. would score ten percent the greens and the left party eleven percent each the center left s.p.d. recently agreed to formal talks with chancellor merkel's conservatives with the aim of forming another grand coalition public opinion on the prospect is mixed and to do this means a standstill nothing will get done it's a lame compromise thing for i think it's crucial for germany that the two parties unite said when i was hopin

trend that we've been seeing for quite some time in germany namely the crises of the traditional parties in germany the conservatives on the social democrats and on the other hand the rise of the a.f.d. the anti immigrant party that as we know enter the german parliament for the first time back in september becoming the third largest political force in the german parliament well let's look more closely at the how do you account for its success. well they tap into people's fears here in germany whether we talk about their most important topic i mean gratian for the past few years or whether it is their criticism of the establishment of the established political parties they have been able to take away voters from the traditional parties also making sure that nonvoters go to the polls those are elements that certainly have helped the f.t. you we have to see this phenomenon as two sides over of want to call in the crises of the traditional parties and also the rise of the they go hand in hand well this is a pinion poll comes just as speedy members are due to vote on whether or not to join chancellor merkel's conservatives in another grand coa

and germany's right wing populist party the alternative for germany has overtaken the social democrats for the first time in a national opinion poll that news comes just before the s.p.d. begins a critical vote on whether to join a coalition government with chancellor merkel conservatives. whiskey and orange juice could a trade war be brewing between the u.s. and the european union over those products. coming right out. and why. a trip airplane. seventeen thousand kilometers in six weeks. to strangers.

the top brass of germany social democrat party stopped a fresh report.

past four o'clock moscow time now this is international we continue with this story germany's social democrats giving party members the final say on whether to enter a coalition with chancellor merkel's conservatives or not and the bestselling newspaper bill that had an idea and decided to pull a stunt to highlight the problem of giving a relatively small group of people so much sway over the country's future by registering a dog as a voting member be right some of the see the funny side there was a correspondent peter oliver explain. it's almost certainly not the sound bite top german social democrats under expected to be having to give to the press this week it came after the newspaper billed registered a named lemur as a member of the s.p. devastating name gender occupation and age in dog years they received a party card saying she was in the only reason that this is anything more than a hilarious mistake by the social democrats is that it's their party members that will get to decide on a coalition with. conservatives a no vote in that ballot well that could see fresh elections here in germany people w

the social democrats will have control of some of the most important ministers the deal still has to be approved by that party's francophile march and shows will be standing down as chairman of germany's social democrats will hand over to parliamentary party leader and not list if the s.p.d. confirms her as its leader should become the first woman to head germany's oldest political party let's take a look at her career. she's aiming to be the first female party leader of the s.p.d. the first in one hundred fifty three years she has a reputation for being outspoken some say it was her speech at the social democrats party conference that secured the votes needed for starting coalition talks with again america's conservative bloc. people we will not give up our s.p.d. party believes if we decide to govern in a coalition. it's inside me and i'm not so vague here andrea nala started out more than twenty years ago within the s.p.d. youth organisation a young socialists she became their leader in one thousand nine hundred five back then she was a student of political science and told georgia beller in one of her first interviews that she didn't plan a political career. sharpen it for you it'

lot of news today let's start with our breaking news at the top germany's social democratic party leader martin shuler his resignation with immediate effect his decision comes after he lost in the german election to chancellor angela merkel and then faced criticism over agreeing to form the run coalition to form a majority government for a second. but i suppose even if i want to inform the prison of the social democrat party then living my post with immediate effect yeah that story just developing we will bring you right up the date on it with a live report a little later in the program but moving on now the dutch foreign minister has resigned as well after revealing earlier in the week he had lied about a meeting with the russian president in two thousand and six. we're going to pull over to. the little. people over for. the night foreign minister it was quite emotional when he announced his resignation he was supported by the country's prime minister who was present during this announcement and also seem to quite moved by the situation and now what has happened today is the result of a

germany's right wing populist party the alternative for germany has overtaken the social democrats for the first time in a national opinion poll the news comes just before the s.p.d. begins voting critical vote on whether to join a coalition government with the chancellor merkel's conservatives. you're watching you from berlin more at the top of the hour you can get all the latest information around the clock on our web site for now we leave you with some sounds from the genius chili gonzales the subject of a new film screening at this year's berlin aleph film festival enjoy. in the. end. for a columnist with the sad song most of it are probably. going to say that. the . law. how do you chase the darkness away. how do you beckon spring. with a carnival in the sun every year hundreds of thousands follow the fragrance of flowers and lose themselves in the magic. come and join in the plan the moment. the mood. the bundesliga highlights. the sneaking. never late. with a final minute penalty look. endorsement and financial institutions luck thanks to a stunning blow from marco lloyd's. to.

jacob zuma has been formally asked by the ruling and same party to resign president zuma said that he will respond to more. than germany social democrats are expected to appoint as a first ever female leader following the resignation of former party leader and candidate for chancellor. this comes amidst a party infighting a. new coalition deal with i'm going to miracles conservatives. don't forget you can always get d.w. news. from google plus still give you access to all the latest news from around the world as well as push notifications for any breaking news you can also use it to satisfy and figures. out a quick look at what's still to come out what do you do when. over air pollution german government sets free public transport mobile with the business updates in just a minute. and i'll be back with the latest news update at the top of the i will get to. explain about moments before. the storms in so. it's all about george chance to discover the world from different perspectives. join us and inspired by distinctive instagram or zz. d.w. stories you talk to each week on instagram.

party internally. and he feels that germany's social democrat should do the same to rejuvenating socialist parties and politics across europe. the german public aren't the only ones waiting for the new government to finally be in place brussels home to the european union's headquarters were e.u. laws are drafted also waits impatiently until a coalition is formed in berlin decisions on how to proceed on grex it a common refugee policy or economic reforms are effectively on hold so much for german efficiency. must look a german restaurant right next to the european commission customers come here to tuck into a slap up sausage supper and the latest subject to political debate one thing they agree on the lack of a working german government is taking its toll in brussels. all of you have to admit without germany there's little progress the belgians of course having no government is not unusual. there's no dressing down to be had in tintin's homeland are struggling to form a coalition at the start of the decade the country went nineteen months without a government. the amount of say four months isn't that l

germany there are other recent polls that still put the social democrats in second place behind the conservatives but what is at least for many people alarming here is the actual trained situation that the traditional parties here in germany face not only the social democrats but also the concern conservatives they have been losing support and at the same time you see the rise of the act immigrant so these are two elements that have to be analyzed and understood together well there are two parts the story of course there's the fall of the s.p.d. but there's also the rise of the d. tell us about that how do you kill for the d's success well let's not forget that the f.t. enter the german parliament for the first time in september they became germany's the most important political force in the german parliament and they tap essentially into people's fears and we're talking here about immigration we're talking here also about this suspicions regarding be establishment the established political parties and that's one of the reasons why they have been able to take some of those voters away from both the conservatives and the social democrats and they've also been able to to attract many people who previously di

the left party is a disgrace for germany the social democrats are a disgrace for germany the f.d.p. it's nothing new is a disgrace for germany. the green party to sum it all up is a disgrace for germany and every german parliament. our political correspondent for did of old joins us now from our report we just heard about how some leading the parliamentarians feel about their colleagues across the aisle in the bundestag what can we expect when they face off again today. well today as you already mentioned the refugee issue again is topic in the bundestag on refugees time reunification of refugees this is an issue bare the the fields this is our home turf they have they have a great strong strong stance against migration against refugees and so it's quite certain that they want to make a point here today of the debate right now is going on the speaker because unbuilt has just gone. just started his speech and he strongly opposes these reunification of family of refugee families saying that families of the refugees should be reunited in other countries but not in germany ok we're getti

germany social democrats are giving party members the final say on whether to enter a coalition with chancellor merkel's conservatives but the bestselling newspaper that has pulled a stunt to highlight the problem of giving a relatively small group of people so much sway over the country's future by registering a dog as a voting member and that's called something of a stir as peter oliver explained it's almost certainly not the soundbite top german social democrats under you know expected to be having to give the press this week it came after the newspaper billed registered a named lima as a member of the s.p.d. devastating name occupation and age. they received a party card saying she was in the only reason that this is anything more than a hilarious mistake by the social democrats is that it's their party members that will get to decide on a coalition with anger. conservatives vote ballots well that could see fresh elections here in germany people who wish to manipulate the votes in a grand coalition through criminality could do just the same and that is what forced the social demo

germany social democrats are giving party members the final say whether or not to enter a coalition with chancellor merkel conservatives and the best selling newspaper the build pulled a stunt to highlight the problem of giving a relatively small group of people so much sway over the country's future registering a dog as a voting member some months in the funny side it was peter all of the reports. almost certainly not the sound bite top german social democrats andrea knowles expected to be having to give to the press this week it came after the newspaper to build a registered a named lemur is a member of the s.p. devastating name gender occupation and age. they received a party card saying she was in the only reason that this is anything more than a hilarious mistake by the social democrats is that it's their party members that will get to decide on a coalition with. conservatives a no vote ballot well that could see fresh elections here in germany people who wish to manipulate the votes in a grand coalition through criminality could do just the same and that is what forced the social d

germany's right wing populist party the alternative for germany or a.s.d. has overtaken the social democrats for the first time in a national opinion poll the latest poll for the daily newspaper builder found that if an election were held now sixteen percent of voters would support the a.s.d. compared to fifteen point five percent who would vote for the social democrats now that party's numbers have been in freefall since the national election in september . and. local correspondent thomas sparrow is tracking the story for us hi thomas we have a far right wing party that's now the stricken second strongest rather in germany according to this poll this must be a shock for the established parties. it is sunni but we have to understand two key points when we think about this survey the first one is just only one out of many surveys that are carried out in germany most other surveys actually still put the social democrats behind the conservatives and the f.t. in third place and in fact this polling institute has been described in german media as being close to the a if the so on the one hundred

germany's right wing populist party the alternative for germany or d. has overtaken the social democrats for the first time in a national opinion poll the latest in so poll for the daily newspaper found that if an election were held now sixteen percent of voters would support the a.f.d. compared to fifteen point five percent who would vote for the social democrats the news comes just before the s.p.d. begins a critical internal vote on whether or not to join a grand coalition government with chancellor merkel's c.v. you again yesterday's numbers have been in freefall since the national election in september. political correspondent tom sparrow is with me here to talk about this new poll that suggests the rightwing a.f.d. party has overtaken the s.p.d. as germany's second biggest party thomas that is quite a bomb shell how significant is this poll result it is a bombshell terry but it's only one poll out of many that are conducted here in germany there are other recent polls that still put the social democrats in second place behind the conservatives but what is a does for many people i m

next germany's social democrats are giving party members the final say on whether to enter a coalition with chancellor merkel's conservatives and the best selling newspaper that build has pulled a stunt to highlight the problem of giving a relatively small group of people so much sway over the country's future by registering a dog as a voting member but some are finding it funny as peter all of an unexplained. it's almost certainly not the sound bite top german social democrats under expected to be having to give to the press this week it came after the newspaper to build a registered a named lemur is a member of the s.p. devastating name gender occupation and age. they received a party card saying she was in the only reason that this is anything more than a hilarious mistake by the social democrats is that it's their party members that will get to decide on a coalition with. conservatives a no vote in that ballot well that could see fresh elections here in germany people who wish to manipulate the votes in a grand coalition through criminality could do just the same and that is what f

germany's social democrats are giving party members the final say on whether to enter a coalition with chancellor merkel's conservatives and the best selling newspaper their builder has pulled a stunt to highlight the problem of giving a relatively small group of people so much sway over the country's future by registering a dog as a voting member but some people are finding it funny as peter oliver explained. it's almost certainly not the sound bite top german social democrats under expected to be having to give to the press this week it came after the newspaper to build a registered a named lemur is a member of the s.p. devastating name gender occupation and age. they received a party card saying she was in the only reason that this is anything more than a hilarious mistake by the social democrats is that it's their party members that will get to decide on a coalition with. conservatives a no vote in that ballot well that could see fresh elections here in germany people who wish to manipulate the votes in a grand coalition through criminality could do just the same and that is what f

party internally. and he feels that germany social democrat should do the same to rejuvenating socialist parties and politics across europe. the german public aren't the only ones waiting for the new government to finally be in place brussels home to the european court a german restaurant right next to the european commission customers come here to tuck into a slap up sausage supper and the latest subject to political debate one thing they agree on the lack of a working german government is taking its toll in brussels. all of the you have to admit without germany does little progress the belgians of course having no government is not unusual. there's no dressing down to be had in tintin's homeland are struggling to form a coalition at the start of the decade the country went nineteen months without a government. the amount of say four months isn't that long here in belgium things always take forever we have to be patient nieman is almost on the germans are so well organized even without an official government i'm sure the country is taking over just aren't running at the e.u. headquarters in the city however

you as a person has worked together with social democratic parties i want to put a question to you about this social market economy as it's known here in germany both of the party leaders when they presented this agreement professed strong allegiance to the social market economy and if you look at the coalition agreement it does contain a number of provisions that go in the direction of strengthening security for workers and hansing it may not go as far as charlotte says it should but enhancing pensions changing labor market and so on is the system of moderated capitalism that is in trying to in this social market economy is that really still appropriate for the times that we live in. well we have to see about that if it's of or already know since the last ten twenty years and. the s.p.d. has never been able to put more ideological ideology and it and especially disturbing the last time in two thousand and thirteen at least they had like minimum wage which was an anchor you know that they could show to voters like they really are changing something in germany like you said it's a comma here it's a comma there it's a few percent here it's a few