Weekend spent discussing a three-way ruling coalition is likely for Angela Merkel
Berlin — German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s efforts to forge a three-way ruling coalition look likely to drag on over the weekend, after all-night talks failed to yield a breakthrough on the divisive issues of migration and climate change. Merkel’s conservatives, the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) and the environmentalist Greens were due to resume talks at 11am GMT on Friday, with senior figures from all three groups insisting a deal was within reach. "I go into these negotiations with the intention, despite all the difficulties, of carrying out the task voters gave us of forming a coalition," Merkel said as she arrived for the next round. "It will be tough, but it’s worth going into round two." Her chief of staff, Peter Altmaier, told ARD television he believed the problems were "solvable", though he did not want to predict when a deal might be reached. Failure to reach agreement could lead to new elections, something the mainstream parties fear could lead to the far-right Altern...
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