German Chancellor Angela Merkel skeptical about leading minority government

German Chancellor and leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, Angela Merkel, looks on while speaking after exploratory talks on forming a new government broke down on November 19, 2017 in Berlin. (Photo by AFP)

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said that she favors new elections rather than heading a minority government.

Markel said that she was “very skeptical” about leading a minority government on Monday, after Marathon talks aimed at forming a coalition government in Germany collapsed.

"The path to the formation of a government is proving harder than any of us had wished for," she said during a televised interview.

She also noted that she would not be stepping down as the county’s Chancellor.

The comments were made after Germany’s pro-business Free Democrats Party (FDP) unexpectedly called off more than four weeks of coalition talks with Merkel’s conservative CDU/CSU bloc and the left-leaning Greens after failing to resolve the differences over a range of issues, particularly immigration policies.    

The failed coalition talks leave Merkel with three options: To form a minority government, approach her previous coalition partner, the Social Democrats (SPD), or call for new elections.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier  had earlier called on political parties to resume attempts to a build a governing coalition following a meeting with Merkel.

“I expect the parties to make the formation of a new government possible in the foreseeable future,”  he said, adding that the parties had a obligation that “cannot be simply given back to the voters.”