Merkel announces 1st-ever talks to form ‘Jamaica’ coalition

German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced on Saturday that her Christian Democrats (CDU party) will negotiate with the Free Democratic Party (FDP) and the Greens in an effort to form a so-called ‘Jamaica’ coalition, local media report. The center-left Social Democratic Party (SDP) will leave the coalition after being a junior partner for Merkel’s CDU for years. “It is clear that the SPD is not able to govern at the national level for the foreseeable future,” Merkel said on Saturday, adding that the CDU should “not waste any further thoughts on this issue,” as cited by Deutsche Welle.