grand coalition

German Chancellor Angela Merkel remains Chancellor of Germany after a vote by the SPD’s grassroots gave the SPD’s leadership the mandate it needed to continue its “grand coalition’ with her.
The majority of 66% for the “grand coalition” amongst SPD members was decisive.
I have written previously how this is the worst possible result for Germany, perpetuating a “grand coalition” government which in the September parliamentary elections visibly lost support, and which is unwanted by the German public.

As expected, the SPD leadership in Germany has now completed its U-turn by reversing the decision it announced after Germany’s September elections – that it would go into opposition and would not agree to another coalition with Angela Merkel and her CDU/CSU – by agreeing to a new ‘Grand Coalition’ with Angela Merkel and her CDU/CSU.
The explanation for this total reversal is set out in an article in the Guardian which supports the deal

The German parliamentary elections last September made obvious the growing disillusionment of more and more Germans with the stagnant government presided over by Germany’s perpetual Chancellor, Angela Merkel.
The two parties which made up Merkel’s government – the CDU/CSU and the SPD – suffered the worst results they have each experienced since the Second World War.