Schroeder and Merkel show no sign of compromise

Aides to Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and rival Angela Merkel showed no signs of compromise on their competing leadership claims as the pair met today for a second round of talks on forming a new German government.

The exploratory talks, for which the two leaders were being joined by ministers and experts, were expected to focus more on policy than on personalities. Merkel told reporters earlier in the day she hoped to address “the situation in which our country finds itself.”

“We are going into the talks constructively,” she said.

Schroeder’s Social Democrats and Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union have yet to commit themselves to formal talks on forming a so-called “grand coalition.”

Merkel insists that her rivals must first accept that, as the head of the stronger group in parliament, she should be chancellor.

“There will be no coalition talks unless it is clear beforehand that Mrs Merkel will be chancellor,” the Christian Democrats’ general secretary, Volker Kauder, told the daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung.

But, he insisted, “there is no ultimatum.”

His opposite number in the Social Democrats, Klaus Uwe Benneter, stuck to his party’s oft-repeated insistence that “we want to govern with Gerhard Schroeder at the helm and push through as much as possible of our election manifesto.”

In an interview with ZDF television, Benneter dismissed as “pure speculation” a Sueddeutsche Zeitung report that Schroeder could back off and leave party chairman Franz Muentefering to become the deputy of a conservative chancellor – so long as Merkel also stands aside.

“Our issues are fused with our leadership figure, Gerhard Schroeder – they cannot be divided,” he said.

Both sides have said another round of preparatory talks is likely next week. Before that, voters in the eastern city of Dresden turn out on Sunday in the last balloting of the election – a vote that was put off because of a candidate’s death.

Pollsters say the delayed vote will not alter the balance of power that emerged from the inconclusive September 18 election, with Merkel’s Christian Democrats set to retain a narrow parliamentary lead over Schroeder’s party.

During the election campaign, Schroeder and Merkel battled over the extent to which the sluggish German economy should be reformed.

“Common aims have to be found for a coalition – a ‘grand coalition’ must renew the country and move it forward,” the Christian Democrats’ Kauder said.

The Social Democrats opposed Merkel’s proposals to loosen rules on hiring and firing workers and to finance a lowering of non-wage labour costs by increasing value-added tax.

Both parties are interested in some sort of tax overhaul, though they have disagreed on details.

The two sides also differ over whether Turkey should join the European Union. Schroeder champions full membership, while Merkel has proposed offering a lesser “privileged partnership.”