On Sunday, Germany’s would-be coalition partners appeared to be stalled over the thorny issue of immigration policy. This despite inching closer to agreement on other major sticking points including climate policy.
An awkward alliance with the pro-business Free Democrats and the Greens would allow Chancellor Angela Merkel to govern for a fourth term. Her conservatives lost votes in September’s election to the far right.
But the three-way combination is untested at a national level.