Germany: conflict inside the grand coalition

The ongoing migration crisis is causing ever more frequent conflicts inside Germany’s government coalition. Horst Seehofer, the Minister-President of Bavaria and the head of the CSU (which is in the government coalition) has criticised Chancellor Angela Merkel’s (CDU) policy on the migrant issue over the past month, and especially strongly so last week. He even threatened the federal government that a complaint to the Constitutional Court would be brought unless the influx of refugees is stopped. The dispute between the leaders of the two Christian Democratic parties was temporarily suspended on 1 November, when a list of priorities for the next few weeks was agreed. However, whether these priorities are put into practice will depend on consent from the Social Democrats (SPD). They are unlikely to grant this at the moment because the continuing migration crisis is adversely affecting public support levels for the Christian Democrats and is beneficial for the SPD themselves. Even though the chairman of the Social Democratic party, Sigmar Gabriel, serves as vice chancellor and minister for the economy in the present cabinet, he is already thinking about the upcoming election to the Bundestag in 2017.