Merkel ally urges Social Democrats to consider new German ‘grand coalition’

Germany’s Social Democrats (SPD) should reconsider their opposition to joining a new “grand coalition” with Angela Merkel’s conservatives because Europe needs a stable government in Berlin, a senior ally of the chancellor said on Thursday.

Germany is facing the worst political crisis of its modern history after Merkel’s efforts to forge a three-way coalition with the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) and Greens collapsed last weekend, raising fears across Europe of a prolonged leadership vacuum in the continent’s economic powerhouse.

The SPD has governed in coalition under Merkel since 2013 but said it wanted to go into opposition after suffering its worst result of the postwar period in the Sept. 24 election.

Some in the SPD, however, are now urging party leader Martin Schulz to reconsider, a view echoed on Thursday by Volker Kauder, leader of Merkel’s conservative parliamentary group in the Bundestag lower house of parliament.

“It’s my wish that the current partners in the coalition government can get together again,” Kauder told Suedwest Presse newspaper.

Schulz is due to meet President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, a former SPD lawmaker and foreign minister, at 1400 GMT. Steinmeier is trying to help facilitate a coalition government and avoid fresh elections.

Schulz will then consult senior party members at the SPD’s Berlin headquarters, SPD sources said. No statements are expected after the SPD meeting.

“We will talk about if and how one can get a federal government in Germany,” a senior SPD member said, adding that one option on the table was to support Merkel only indirectly by not blocking a minority government.

Changing course and teaming up with Merkel’s conservatives again could require a change of leadership at the SPD - an outcome unlikely before a party conference on Dec. 7-9.

Kauder said Germany needed a government to provide leadership in Europe.

“Europe is waiting for a Germany capable of acting so that it can finally respond to the questions raised by French President (Emmanuel) Macron. The economically strongest country in Europe cannot show itself as a political dwarf,” he said.

Kauder was referring to Macron’s call for fiscal reforms to strengthen the euro zone.

Germany, the world’s fourth largest economy, has long been a bastion of stability in the EU, and officials in Brussels and Paris fear months of political uncertainty could harm plans to reform euro zone governance and EU defense and asylum policies.

ANOTHER ELECTION?

Merkel, who remains acting chancellor until a government is agreed, has said she would prefer to work with the SPD, but if that option fails, she would favor new elections over an unstable minority government.

Another election would also provide no speedy resolution of the crisis. Under Germany’s constitution, the president could call another election only after Merkel had lost several votes in the Bundestag -- a process that could take several months.

The mass-circulation Bild newspaper reported on Wednesday that 30 members of the SPD’s 153-strong parliamentary group this week had questioned Schulz’s preference for going into opposition during a meeting of the parliamentary party.

Speaking to ZDF television on Thursday, SPD deputy leader Karl Lauterbach said his party might have to rethink its opposition to another “grand coalition”, but added he was still skeptical about joining one led by Merkel.

The SPD supports Macron’s proposal to create a fiscal capacity in the euro zone to protect members of the single currency bloc against external shocks.

If the SPD changes tack about a “grand coalition”, however, the leader of Merkel’s sister Bavarian party, the Christian Social Union (CSU) said on Thursday it should not expect the conservatives to grant any significant concessions.

“We can’t be blackmailed,” said Horst Seehofer, who faces a decision later on Thursday on whether he remains as CSU leader.

“We have a tight cooperation between (Merkel‘s) Christian Democratic Union and the CSU. We have clear positions on substance that cannot be reversed,” Seehofer told reporters.

ANKARA (Reuters) - Iran’s Revolutionary Guards are ready to help rebuild Syria and bring about a lasting “ceasefire” there, chief commander Mohammad Ali Jafari said, adding that disarming Lebanon’s Hezbollah is out of the question, state TV reported on Thursday.

Regional tensions have risen in recent weeks between Sunni Muslim monarchy Saudi Arabia and Shi‘ite Iran, whose rivalry has wrought upheaval in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Bahrain.

Saudi Arabia has accused the heavily armed Iran-backed Hezbollah of helping Houthi forces in Yemen and playing a role in a ballistic missile attack on the kingdom earlier this month. Iran and Hezbollah both denied the claims.

Iranian state television quoted Jafari as saying: “Hezbollah must be armed to fight against the enemy of the Lebanese nation which is Israel. Naturally they should have the best weapons to protect Lebanon’s security. This issue is non-negotiable.”

Iran denies giving financial and military support to the Houthis in the struggle for Yemen, blaming the deepening crisis on Riyadh. “Iran only provides advisory and spiritual assistances to Yemen ... and this help will continue,” he said.

Jafari also praised the success of Iranian allies across the region, hailing a “resistance front” from Tehran to Beirut and calling on Riyadh to avoid confronting this grouping.

“We directly deal with global arrogance and Israel not with their emissaries... That is why we do not want to have direct confrontation with Saudi Arabia,” he said. The term global arrogance refers to the United States.

LUCRATIVE REWARDS

Leaders of Russia, Turkey and Iran agreed on Wednesday to help support a full-scale political process in Syria and announced an agreement to sponsor a conference in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi to try to end Syria’s civil war.

“The guards are ready to play an active role in establishing a lasting ceasefire in Syria ... and reconstruction of the country,” Jafari said.

Iran has signed large economic contracts with Syria, reaping what appear to be lucrative rewards for helping Tehran’s main regional ally President Bashar al-Assad in his fight against rebel groups and Islamic State militants.

“In meetings with the (Iran) government, it was agreed that the Guards were in a better position to help Syria’s reconstruction ... the preliminary talks already have been held with the Syrian government over the issue,” Jafari said

Jafari repeated Iran’s stance on its disputed ballistic missile work, saying the Islamic Republic’s missile program is for defensive purposes and not up for negotiation.

The program was not part of the 2015 nuclear deal with Western powers under which Iran agreed to curb its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of some sanctions.

“Iran will not negotiate its defensive program ... there will be no talks about it,” he said.

“(French president Emmanuel) Macron’s remarks over our missile work is because he is young and inexperienced.”

Macron said earlier this month that Tehran should be less aggressive in the region and should clarify the strategy around its ballistic missile program.