According to the Bild newspaper, German Chancellor Angela Merkel's party and rivaling Social Democratic Party led by Martin Schulz agreed during Thursday to start talks on forming the coalition.
The announcement comes a day after the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) and Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU) alliance voiced readiness to begin negotiations with the SPD, while Merkel stated that she agrees with the statements, saying that the formation of the Jamaica coalition is impossible.
Merkel was referring to a statement made by Bavarian leader Horst Seehofer on Sunday, who said that the formation of a new grand coalition between German Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU/CSU and the center-left SPD is "the best option for Germany," emphasizing that such a scenario would be "better in any case than 'Jamaica', new elections or a minority government."
Merkel's party, SPD agree to start talks on forming coalition
01 December 2017
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Previously, the German chancellor voiced strong opposition to holding snap elections.
