1 November 2005

BERLIN - Plans for a German grand coalition under designated chancellor Angela Merkel appeared to be in crisis Tuesday after two of her cabinet heavyweights pulled out of the planned government.

Bavarian Prime Minister Edmund Stoiber, a member of Merkel's Christian Democratic alliance (CDU/CSU), will not serve as economics minister, party sources confirmed to Deutsche Presse-Agentur, dpa.

Stoiber's exit follows the surprise resignation Monday of Franz Muentefering, the leader of outgoing Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's Social Democrats (SPD). Muentefering quit after the party executive rejected his candidate for the post of SPD secretary general.

Muentefering has been slated to be vice-chancellor and labour minister under Merkel - but it is now unclear if the party will allow him to hold these posts when he formally stands down in two weeks.

In any case, Muentefering would be greatly weakened in any cabinet after being the victim of what analysts called a "putsch" by his own troops.

"Lightning has struck the SPD - Muentefering's resignation means chaos," said a Bild newspaper commentary, adding: "Stoiber is waving a white flag and Merkel is giving up almost all of her principles."

The Stoiber, Muentefering duo - two of Germany's most ruthless political operators - had been seen as anchors of the planned coalition because Stoiber heads the Bavarian CSU and Muentefering was SPD chairman.

Merkel, who chairs the CDU, completed the cabinet party leadership triad which had been envisaged to impose iron-clad stability on the awkward marriage of Germany's two biggest blocs which are normally bitter rivals.

Shrugging off the grim personnel developments, Merkel and Chancellor Schroeder insisted negotiations for a grand coalition would continue and should be wrapped up by a November 14 deadline, with the new government under Merkel due to be formally elected by parliament on November 22.

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