Tensions between coalition partners ahead of German cabinet meeting

“The Social Democrats are still out of line. I would advise them to be more composed,” he said before a Christian Social Union (CSU) meeting in Munich.

The head of the Social Democrats’ parliamentary faction, Andrea Nahles – who is not a cabinet member – criticized CSU chief Seehofer and a minister from the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) over the weekend, after both had made controversial comments that hit the headlines in past weeks.

Nahles said that they were were seeking to expand their own profiles, rather than working for the good of the country.

Deputy CDU chief Julia Kloeckner was more measured on Nahles’ remarks, saying coolly that she had “noted how the SPD now seemed eager to tell us what subjects we can speak about.”

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s CDU, its allies the CSU, and the Social Democrats banded together in a political marriage of convenience after all three suffered losses in elections last year.

After many months of negotiations finally led to a government being formed last month, cabinet members from all three parties will meet for the first time on Tuesday and Wednesday to hash out a work schedule for the current year.

The parties in the coalition have clashed over several issues, including possible bans on diesel vehicles in some cities, who should oversee the end of coal power in Germany, and migration policy.

Source: dpa