German parties miss deadline in coalition talks, no agreement on key issues

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s efforts to forge a tripartite ruling coalition could last all weekend after the parties missed the leader’s Thursday deadline, Reuters reports. The parties failed to reach agreement on key issues such as migration and finances. Merkel’s conservatives, the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) and the environmentalist Greens said around 4am that they were taking a break after 15 hours of frustrating negotiations. Wolfgang Kubicki, deputy leader of the FDP, told ARD television the parties were “still so far apart on key issues such as migration, fighting climate change, finances and domestic security, that I can’t imagine how we can get together in the short time available.”