Merkel Ally Says Coalition With SPD to Ease Energy Reform

Germany’s chances of easing its transition to renewable energy are rising as Chancellor Angela Merkel negotiates a coalition with the Social Democrats, a lawmaker from her conservative bloc said.

Merkel’s CDU/CSU bloc shares more ground with the Social Democrats, or SPD, than with the Free Democrats when it comes to reforming clean-energy legislation, said Georg Nuesslein, energy spokesman for the CSU faction in parliament. “It will be easier because the ideological trench warfare won’t be as fierce.”