Berlin — Chancellor Angela Merkel said Germany’s top parties still had "big obstacles" to surmount before reaching a new coalition deal, ahead of a last-ditch round of negotiations on Thursday. The veteran leader, who is battling to form a new government to salvage her political future, warned of tough talks that were expected to stretch well into the night. She said her conservative Christian Democrats would "work constructively to find the necessary compromises but we are also aware that we need to execute the right policies for our country". September’s inconclusive elections left Merkel without a majority and struggling to find partners to govern Europe’s biggest economy. After her earlier attempt at forging a coalition with two smaller parties collapsed, she is now pinning her hopes on renewing an alliance with the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD). SPD leader Martin Schulz also spoke of "big obstacles" on the last day of preliminary talks in which the parties were sounding ea...
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