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Schroeder seeks coalition pacts with rivals
(China Daily)
Updated: 2005-09-20 06:20
SPD Chairman Franz Muentefering said after a meeting of the party executive
that he had sent invitations to all Germany's major parties, excluding the new
Left Party.
"We have a responsibility to make clear that we want to rule with Mr
Schroeder as chancellor and implement a lot of that which we have undertaken to
do," he told reporters.
Asked if Schroeder's role as chancellor was a precondition for SPD
involvement in any coalition, he replied: "Yes. We both made that very clear
yesterday evening."
Merkel, as leader of the party with the highest share of the vote, declared
that it was up to her to lead coalition negotiations.
Standing by her claim of victory, she insisted that she had a "clear mandate"
to form a government.
However, Schroeder ignored that claim and insisted Merkel's result, much
weaker than predicted by opinion polls, showed she was not fit to govern.
Muentefering said he had issued invitations to Merkel's Christian Democrats
(CDU), their Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union, their
pro-business allies the Free Democrats (FDP), and to the SPD's existing
partners, the ecologist Greens. Several leading voices in the SPD made overtures
to the FDP to enter a coalition with them and the Greens.
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