Word: merkel
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Dates: during 2010-2019
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...Merkel wasn't expecting to encounter so many problems so soon with the governing coalition she negotiated with the pro-business FDP and the CDU's sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), following her victory in last September's elections. But holding the coalition together is proving to be a challenge given the policy differences, competing egos and vested interests involved. In an effort to try to iron out the partners' differences, the leaders of all three parties will meet for dinner on Jan. 17 to discuss a host of issues: tax cuts, health care reform, Afghanistan...
...Merkel has been at loggerheads with the FDP over tax reform for months. The FDP has insisted that the government stick to the compromise agreed upon during the coalition talks to introduce additional tax cuts worth $35 billion in 2011. But given Germany's soaring budget deficit, Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble, a member of the CDU, is now reportedly looking to postpone the tax cuts until after...
...Germany and France - by saying it was in Germany's interests to forge close links between Turkey and the E.U. The CSU hit back immediately by reiterating its opposition to Turkey's E.U. membership, saying it was ready to offer a "privileged partnership" to Ankara instead. In the past, Merkel has backed a privileged partnership instead of full membership for Turkey, putting a damper on the country's hopes of ever joining the club. (Read "Angela Merkel's Moment...
...Merkel is also coming under increasing pressure from the U.S. and its NATO allies to outline her position on increasing Germany's troop levels in Afghanistan ahead of an important Afghan conference in London on Jan. 28. Germany has 4,300 soldiers in Afghanistan, making it the third largest international contributor after the U.S. and Britain. But the CDU's partners are split over whether to send more. According to media reports, Westerwelle is opposed to a troop increase and would rather focus on efforts to train the Afghan police. But Merkel's Defense Minister, Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg...
...perhaps even more surprising is the criticism she is receiving from within her own party. On Jan. 10, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung newspaper published an open letter signed by four regional CDU parliamentary leaders that said that Merkel owed her electoral victory to luck rather than a convincing campaign strategy and that the CDU had lost touch with its core supporters. The letter also stressed that Merkel's main priority should be to "win back the conservative and economic liberal voters." Analysts say that conservative leaders disliked the CDU's swing to the center of the political spectrum when Merkel...