German Coalition Talks Take a Rough Turn on Migration Dispute
This article is for subscribers only.
The ability of German conservative leader Friedrich Merz to form a government will be tested Thursday as negotiations with the Social Democrats turn to migration, an issue that laid bare sharp divisions before last month’s election.
After his Christian Democratic-led bloc won the Feb. 23 vote, Merz is aiming to secure a majority to succeed Chancellor Olaf Scholz in the coming weeks. But exploratory talks taking place in Berlin, which this week yielded a dramatic lifting of German debt restrictions, will become more difficult as negotiators tackle the hot-button migration issue.