If You're a Centrist, Be Proud of It

The German Social Democrats' vote to continue coalition talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel's center-right Christian Democratic Union isn't just another bridge crossed on the path toward the fourth Merkel cabinet since 2005. It's a decision that should resonate for all center-left parties: Are they actually better off as part of a strong moderate center rather than as stand-alone parties? That's an existential question many members and leaders of these parties are afraid to ask, and there's a chance that answers reached without their cooperation will wipe them off the political stage.

The vote on Sunday went 362-279 in favor of formal coalition talks, which will go on for weeks and produce a detailed, binding agreement of the kind Merkel has already carried out in two previous "grand coalitions" with the SPD. The Social Democrats have hesitated to repeat the experience because, in the public mind, Merkel came to be responsible for all the joint achievements -- not just for the economic prosperity that's the key goal of her center-right party, but also for social policies like the introduction of the minimum wage, which the SPD had championed. She has even stolen -- albeit at a high political cost -- the mantle of refugee protector-in-chief, which by rights belongs to the socialists, not to conservatives.