Germany: Merkel seeks coalition partners +++ Iraqi Kurds vote on independence +++ Japan PM calls early polls

26. Oktober 2017, 02:00

Germany: Merkel seeks coalition partners

Germany is assessing the fallout from yesterday’s general election. Chancellor Angela Merkel has secured a fourth term, but the election also saw the far-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD, win 13 percent of the vote to become the third-largest party in the Bundestag . Martin Klingst is a senior correspondent for Die Zeit newspaper and says there are two issues which drew voters to the AfD: “But the first reason is the refugee wave which started in 2015. The second reason is an anti-Muslim sentiment that is very strong and the feeling that the composure of Germany will change and there’s a big fear of this change in certain parts of the population.” Angela Merkel’s Union bloc finished first with 33 percent, which is 8 points lower than the previous election. Her coalition partner, the Social Democrats, won 21 percent, the party’s worst result since 1949. The SPD says it is ending its’ grand coalition with Merkel’s Christian Democrats. Merkel has ruled out a coalition with the AfD on the far right and the Linke party on the far left. She is now expected to seek a three-way coalition with the liberal Free Democrats and the Greens, which together won 19 percent. Angela Merkel’s chief of staff is Peter Altmeier: “Coalition governments in Germany are not the exception; they are the rule. And all the formations in the past have been awfully bloody difficult, but we always manage to provide stability, to provide very strong, and this will again be the case this time.” French President Emmanuel Macron has phoned Angela Merkel to congratulate her on her victory. Macron said France and Germany will continue to cooperate on issues which are vital to the European Union. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has also phoned Berlin to tell Angela Merkel that the EU needs a strong German government now more than ever.

Iraqi Kurds vote on independence

The Kurds of northern Iraq today are holding a referendum on independence from the rest of Iraq. Baghdad has said it will respond with military action to any violence linked to the vote. The referendum is opposed by Turkey and Iran, which both have their own large Kurdish minorities. It is also opposed by the United States, which says the vote is a distraction from the fight against Islamic State militants. Peter Galbraith is a former American diplomat who is now an advisor to the Iraqi Kurds: “This really is the culmination of a century-long dream by the Kurds to have their own state. This is just a huge moment and it’s very emotional.”

Japan PM calls early polls

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has called a snap general election for October 22nd. Opposition parties say they are unprepared for an election and oppose the move. Tokyo’s popular governor, Yuriko Koike, says she is launching a new political party to challenge Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party. She says her Hope Party will advocate women’s issues, the elimination of nuclear energy, and other issues.

EU ministers discuss Poland

EU ministers are meeting in Brussels today to discuss Poland. Warsaw faces possible sanctions because of judicial reforms being pushed by the national-conservative ruling Law and Order Party. Critics say the reforms eliminate the independence of the Polish legal system.

The weather

The afternoon will remain mostly sunny in the west and mixed in the rest of the country with a chance of some scattered rain showers. Highs today are ranging from 12 to 20 degrees.”

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