the conservatives those are still elements that have to be discussed between the parties even if angela merkel and the s.p.d. is marshals even if they reach an agreement will shortz be able to persuade members of his party well that is the key question brand because the social democrats are definitely divided on the issue whereas some of the members do believe that it's important to sit down with the conservatives maybe form that coalition government in other words put the country before the party as some of the members have been saying there are those who think that it would only harm the party to go again into a grand coalition with on the democrats conservatives so that's the challenge that martin shows has ahead of him to try and convince the members that this could be a good idea or atomosphere on the story for us tonight here in berlin thomas thank you very much. for it's harry and his american fiance meghan marco have given their first interview together since announcing that they plan to marry margot says despite being a famous actress she is not prepared for the level of media interest that will co

merkel's new wish is another grand coalition with the social democrats s.p.d. party chairman martin shultz is a little more careful as he approaches these negotiations it might work out but it might not anything could happen. it is possible that germany ends up with a constellation of governing partners that have never before worked together in a coalition we should not be afraid of this this could mean tolerating a minority collision led by merkel or possibly a grand coalition it's up to the german president foreign father steinmeyer to explore the options of how the government building process will continue now that merkel and schultz have each held talks with steinmeier the next step is for all three to meet this will happen on thursday in bellevue council and after that the two parties could continue talks without the president trying to sneak in named if the meeting with the german president doesn't turn into a scene of stress and argument then i would say that it would be a good idea to hold these talks. because president. on america will also wants to enter th

s.p.d. party leader martin slowly backpedaling at a party had called a press conference he says because germany is in a complicated situation this is the answer his party will not refuse to talk about forming a new government. kind of. there is no fixed course in any specific direction but one thing is clear if talk show that we could consider taking part in a new government constellation. then the party members will vote on this. option in the s.p.d. is facing a crucial test at a meeting with s.p.d. leader martin schulz german president. reportedly pressed the social democrat to reconsider forming another grand coalition with the conservatives but with scholz us party leader coalition talks seem difficult he had rejected the idea of taking on the responsibility of government twice while the rumors had it that schultz might step down as party chief members of the conservative c.d.u. show optimism that it is news president and the president's appeal that every party has to make sure that there can

martin shows there and if we look at what happened in the election on september twenty four his party the s.p.d. had a terrible result a result that was blamed on the fact that he and his party had previously formed that grand coalition and that's something that we heard him say he wants to avoid at all costs although however some people in the party some of the members of the party have also mentioned that they are at least willing to talk and that's something that again the german president flanked by the time i will be discussing with martin shows but it is clear at least from now that the s.p.d. is not wanting to to form that grand coalition that has prepared itself for a role as the major opposition party in germany. germany we have to talk about the country just generally speaking thomas because i mean this is a country it has really been a big fan of stability in the past year especially we've seen the rise of populist movements in other countries regs it for example as well the fact that there is now political uncertainty in germany what does this mean for the country's partners in euro

needs to quit pouting so far s.p.d. party leaders have shown no interest in governing on election night they ruled out joining a grand coalition something they reiterated after the collapse of the recent coalition to go she ations. we remain unafraid of new elections. in view of the results of this year's elections on september twenty fourth we will be available to enter into a grand coalition. you know nichols or. so. but germany's president is increasing the pressure he even alluded to the s.p.d. is a rigid stance during a visit with schoolchildren visit. those who barricade themselves behind assertions as we're now witnessing can only be reached with great difficulty later . there are even rumblings within the s.p.d. itself not everyone is thrilled with the possible role and the opposition president the president has made a very clever announcement he sent that we now have been called upon to talk i always very much favor coming to decisions at the end of talks and not at the beginning. among funk. even the would be govern

needs to quit pouting so far s.p.d. party leaders have shown no interest in governing on election night they ruled out joining a grand coalition something they reiterated after the collapse of the recent coalition to go she ations. we remain unafraid of new elections in view of the results of this year's elections on september twenty fourth we will be available to enter into a grand coalition. you know and it goes. but germany's president is increasing the pressure he even alluded to the s.p.d. is a rigid stance during a visit with schoolchildren visiting. those who barricade themselves behind assertions as we're now witnessing can only be reached with great difficulty later . there are even rumblings within the s.p.d. itself not everyone is thrilled with the possible role and the opposition president president steinmeyer has made a very clever announcement he sent that we now have been called upon to talk i always very much favor coming to decisions at the end of talks and not at the beginning. i'm on point. even the would b

it does not look like it is prepared to work with merkel i just want to listen in to what the s.p.d. party had said a short while ago and then get your take on the thomas. the honesty of the stick we believe it is important for the citizens of our country that is the voters to assess the new situation in germany via couldn't be a trillion we're not afraid of you elections if i'm dizzy following the results of the election on september twenty fourth then we are not available to enter into a grand coalition because of course. so they are not going to be part of any coalition that is something that we are now hearing reiterated from the s.p.d. it looks like they also want new elections thomas what does this mean for the balance of power in the country and for the chancellor angela merkel. well it's important to understand why the s.p.d. has that position why it has been reiterating that it will not enter into a new grand coalition and that has to do with the result that they achieved on september twenty four result that was partially blamed on the fact that they had joined that grand coalitio

time for shut out the s.p.d. party has confirmed that i should accept the invitation from the german president to take part in took with the chairman of the c.d.u. c.s.u. passes next thursday somebody far more insightful than myself once said that a week was a long time in politics and it certainly does seem to be true for angola merkel as well seven days ago she was picking up the pieces after jamaica coalition talks broke down she said looking at the two options that would look like the only ones available to you were a minority rule or new elections that you would actually prefer new elections over ruling over a minority government well she has changed her mind on that somewhat saying that it wasn't a good idea right now to put the decision on who would govern germany back to the german people that they'd already made their minds up back in september and it was up to the politicians to try and hammer out a coalition so where are we right now two months on from the general election in germany lots of late nights lots

democratic youth branch categorically rejects a coalition with merkel she's also not well liked by the s.p.d. party base and they are the ones who have to make the final decision. political correspondent is thomas sparrow and joins us from our parliament studio so welcome thomas we just heard the s.p.d. leader martin short saying that no options have been ruled out at the election after the election the first option he ruled out was forming another coalition government what's changed well in the one hundred situation has obviously changed back then it seemed possible that there could be a so-called jamaica coalition fell between the conservatives the greens and the liberals that's obviously now of the table on the other hand the german president. recently met with mr shows and asked him to reconsider his opposition to joining another grand coalition to reconsider that firm opposition at least they're still not very convinced that's the best case for now at least the social democrats and that's what we heard from mr schultz are going to sit at the same table and try to see if there is a common groun

guy for shut out the s.p.d. party has confirmed that i should accept the invitation from the german president to take part of the took with the chairman of the c.d.u. c.s.u. passes next thursday. while somebody with far more insight than myself once said that a week's a long time in politics and it's also proved true for chancellor angela merkel a week ago she was well picking up the tatters from failed coalition coalition talks for the jamaica coalition she said that she would prefer elections over the possibility that she was facing a ruling a minority government she's now said that well new elections would really be a good idea and didn't relish the prospect of having to put the decision to the. people again day already made up their decision of course they only made up their minds back in september of this year but after two months long nights plenty of talk plenty of all given plenty of debate it does seem at the moment like germany may be heading back down the route to the same coalition government that ruled it

that sounds more like she's trying to force a marriage upon a very reluctant to put it mildly s.p.d. party which really wanted to go into opposition regroup itself really discover its roots and then rebuild on its newfound strength and now there's a feeling here that that process is being cut short by being called into duty really to at least talk to the cd you know about potentially entering something like coalition talk so if you talk to the cd that sounds a lot more concrete at this stage than it does on the s.p.d. side so it sounds a bit like an arranged marriage offer but this time the social democrats mikaela i'm a strong bargaining position is an opportunity for them to put in place some of their core issues like minimum wage and so on yes and that's also the only way that the s.p.d. could make this palatable to its grassroots which in the end will like last time around to have the opportunity to vote on anything that is potentially agreed between its own party leadership and the c.d.u. if it even gets to that stage are still being cautious here so it clearly isn't a very strong bar

needs to quit pouting so far s.p.d. party leaders have shown no interest in governing on election night they ruled out joining a grand coalition something they reiterated after the collapse of the recent coalition to go she ations. be a shawl and we remain unafraid of new elections. in view of the results of this year's elections on september twenty fourth we will be available to enter into a grand coalition. but germany's president is increasing the pressure he even alluded to the s.p.d. as a rigid stance during a visit with schoolchildren visiting. those who barricade themselves behind assertions as we are now witnessing can only be reached with great difficulty later and. i always very much favor coming to decisions at the end of talks and not at the beginning. among funk. even the would be governing green party thinks the social democrats should not refuse in spite of everything. probably won't work to their advantage to enter into a grand coalition again that's the dilemma but this general refusal to negotiate is unaccep

party is. still forming the acting government namely the union and the s.p.d. who were the grand coalition these two parties have lost fourteen percent how clear are can a rejection of such a grand coalition the. parties. want to form a government as a you for parties. until a couple of days ago declared this prospective government as a history project of progress and. is now ended. they haven't used the mandate that they. have given and therefore the mandate has to be returned to the voters again. mr schultz. you repeated and reconfirmed your rejection of a grand coalition i mean where are heading towards fresh elections aren't we now this rejection of a grand coalition that also true in case of recollections of us was in the framework of our constitution we have our constitutional organs that we need to make use of i.e. they federal my president. he's the one who needs to act out. and. what he does and when he does things determines when fresh elections would start with. the. president and a parliament and need to take decisions before any fresh elections woul

martine shoals whose picture is just seeing there on the screen behind you he's the head of the s.p.d. party is a controversial figure and when he came in as the party's main candidate in the last election the party performed rather poorly some are saying he should step down what do you make about why they came in eight months ago as the savior. the s.p.d. and now he is just someone he is somebody who is book aiding any progress towards a grand coalition and therefore his days are up in the s.b. i do think it's only a matter of time till he has to step down and be replaced by somebody else now the s.p.d. says the reason they don't want to go back in the reluctant to go into another coalition with chancellor merkel's conservatives is that they tend to be overshadowed by her as such a dominant personality in that coalition government they blame their poor performance for having been in this alliance in government in the previous government. what's at risk for the s.p.d. if they re enter this alliance again with chancellor merkel's conserves well they haven't they have seen it twice in the firs

reconsider whether to join a coalition government with chancellor angela merkel and her conservative party s.p.d. leader martin schultz has so far ruled it out but other leading social democrats say they are open to dialogue they say the party has a duty to the nation to help end the political deadlock. the man of the moment s.p.d. leader martin childes arriving for his meeting with the german president frank walter steinmeier reportedly pressed a social democrat to reconsider forming another grand coalition with conservatives after the meeting however no indications of an outcome. earlier in the day schultz addressed protesting employees of tech giant zima and while there he hinted at what he thought of angular markets conservatives. mrs merkel and mr zero for can address siemens directly if they don't they may have a different opinion to mine. an opinion schultz is afraid will be drowned out in a grand coalition but within the s.p.d. itself there are other voices emerging than the. ones that if we have the right ideas and can really employment then in the grand coalition is the better option f

then the party members will vote on this. option when the s.p.d. is facing a crucial test at a meeting with s.p.d. leader martin schulz german president. reportedly pressed the social democrat to reconsider forming another grand coalition with the conservatives but with shows us party leader coalition talks seem difficult he had rejected the idea of taking on the responsibility of government twice while the rumor is headed that schultz might step down as party chief members of the conservative c.d.u. show optimism that it is moon as president and the president's appeal that every party has to make sure that there can be a stable government in germany has some impact we have to stop talking with the s.p.d. as soon as they are ready and form a new government soon. and i think. it's a tough choice for s.p.d. leader martin schulz cooperate with a break his promise or put the political stability of germany at risk a tough choice indeed let's bring in our political correspondent thomas sparrow with the latest on the story hi thomas good to see you so the

s.p.d. were no longer convinced that that strict opposition to joining a new coalition was the right path for the party they have been internal debates in the last few days and in particular after the so-called jamaica negotiations collapse to see whether the s.p.d. should change line and should revisit that strict opposition and that's something that definitely play a role in the negotiations last night the internal discussions within the s.p.d. and obviously also with the conversations that martin shows how with president time maya and thomas what do you think that the s.p.d. support base will make of this you turn well they are divided as i mentioned so where are some people are still very very skeptical indeed of forming any possible coalition with angela merkel because they see that as the main problem that ended up in the s.p.d. having a very bad result on september twenty four the elections of them were twenty four there are others who say that the s.p.d. was simply no position to reject talking to i'm going to michael that said it is so unclear whether that will bring any results for now they'r

germany's social democrat leader martin schultz is consulting with senior members of his party at this hour the s.p.d. is under considerable pressure right now to join a coalition government with angela merkel and avoid fresh elections here in germany a show so far ruled joining a new coalition but the german president met with him earlier and he's believed to have pressed him to reconsider that position that's after the collapse of talks last weekend between america's conservatives and two other parties. well here with me now in the studio as did obvious political correspondent thomas farah times welcome you've been following this for us you were just outside the s.p.d. headquarters the war here where you're welcome for us here. how likely is it that the social democrats are going to go into a coalition now well it is unlikely at this point that they will go into a grand coalition i mean that's something that many members of the s.p.d. certainly do not want because they see that that was one of the biggest problems that they face in the elections of ten twenty four but that's not the only option tha

scholz has met with german president front by their steinmeyer and is now consulting with party leaders really s.p.d. the ballad of pressure to end the coalition impasse and join chancellor merkel in forming a government also coming up grief and anger in argentina relatives of the crew members on board a missing submarine react to the navy announcement that a sound recorded at the vessels last known position may have been an explosion. and zimbabwe prepares to inaugurate its new leader and worse than non-god what is promising to bring democracy and prosperity back to a country that's been crippled by poverty. can he deliver we'll get you the latest from harare. also on the program it's payback time for a far right politician here in germany he criticized berlin's holocaust memorial calling it a monument to shame now someone has built a replica of it right in his own backyard that story's coming up. and sarah harding welcome to the show it's good to have you with us germany's social democrat leader marching schultz is consulting with senior members of his party at this hour the s.p.d. is under consid

conservative parliamentary chair is giving an interview criticising germany's social democratic party the s.p.d. they were in a grand coalition with merkel's conservatives but had a poor showing in september's parliamentary election now they're opposed to a fresh coalition with a cd you. i just heard the statement by s.p.d. parliamentary group leader and. i believe that anyone who is unwilling to take part in this task despite the fact that they stood for election in order to assume political responsibility should remain silent at this moment. a clear message to the s.p.d. . and yes right now the s.p.d. are being completely irresponsible i already thought it was eyebrow raising after the election. they were sulking and refused to talk about policy and just went into retreat what good are new elections when they won't even take responsibility for germany now why should anyone vote for such a party. to her is to the meeting he wasn't in berlin when coalition talks collapsed he was in brussels with some of his colleagues. when we received the news where there were ten of us sat in front of a small

to to govern in a stable way what we will see in the next weeks is some struggle within the s.p.d. . the party base is basically a lot of people in the party base especially the young ones are against a new grand coalition and therefore the party leadership will have to make a strong effort to get these people on board. it's important point out yesterday's don't to vote on this right yes absolutely and there is a there is a there's there's no guarantee it goes through them. very true. though just the open question right now how would the bed go how would the s.p.d. base react just as a such a special of the young people they say we don't want that anymore but my guess is it's an educated guess that in the end after a lot of back and forth even the party base will follow the leadership and we will see a new grand coalition and not we will not see new fresh elections ok we'll see the first sketch of what that might look like later today venice thanks so much for being with us thank you for having me lawler news now and rival palestinian groups fatah and hamas say they have agreed to postpone the

made quickly and it is expected to call on the second largest party the social democrats to form a new grand coalition that's something the s.p.d. had repeatedly. uncle american c.d.u. party games to create a sense of urgency as a new grand coalition begins to look more likely what they don't want is to try to govern without a majority. they've been there as a skeptic i am skeptical about a minority government germany is a big player in european politics we need to show stability. of the city use parliamentary friction chairman for car culture called on the social democrats to put aside their reservations and begin talks for years if you have to partner up with one or even two other parties whenever you want to pass a new law in the bundestag that might turn out even more nerve wrecking than forging a new coalition that's why i suggest we build a coalition with the s.p.d. . or and asked me to a speedy but for the social democrats in new grand coalition with the city you is far from a done deal. the s.p.d. hopes a stable government can be formed that's why we're putting forward the idea of a minority government we're convinced i