Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
My Profile
Top News
Reuters top ten news stories delivered to your inbox each day.
Subscribe
You are here:
Home
>
News
>
International
>
Article
Home
Business & Finance
News
U.S.
Politics
International
Technology
Entertainment
Sports
Lifestyle
Oddly Enough
Health
Science
Special Coverage
Video
Pictures
Your View
The Great Debate
Blogs
Weather
Reader Feedback
Do More With Reuters
RSS
Widgets
Mobile
Podcasts
Newsletters
Your View
Make Reuters My Homepage
Partner Services
CareerBuilder
Affiliate Network
Professional Products
Support (Customer Zone)
Reuters Media
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
Merkel aims for quick coalition deal with FDP
Mon Sep 28, 2009 2:25am EDT
Email | Print |
Share
| Reprints | Single Page
[-]
Text
[+]
By Madeline Chambers
BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives vowed on Monday to seal a coalition deal, including tax cuts, with the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) within a month after Sunday's election victory.
Merkel's conservatives won a parliamentary majority with the FDP, her partner of choice, enabling her to end her awkward four-year-old partnership with the Social Democrats (SPD).
Now the two center-right parties must try to forge compromises on a range of issues including tax, labor market policy and domestic security in Europe's biggest economy.
"Coalition talks should start as soon as possible...and it is our goal to have a coalition deal in a month at the latest," said Ronald Pofalla, General Secretary of Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU).
The next government faces major economic challenges. It will have to consolidate a surging budget deficit, cope with rising unemployment and ward off a credit crunch. The stock market looked set to open flat.
Pofalla said his party was sticking to its election promise of tax cuts.
"We want tax cuts in two steps in the next legislative period which will result in relief of 15 billion euros ($22.03 billion)," he said.
However, the FDP will push for a more ambitious programme. While Merkel has steadfastly refused to put a timeframe on her party's plans, given the dire state of public finances, the FDP campaigned for quick cuts worth 35 billion euros.
The latest results put Merkel's conservative bloc, the CDU and Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU), on 33.8 percent, their second-worst postwar result, down from 35.2 percent in 2005.
But the FDP offset the losses, surging to 14.6 percent, its best ever score, and putting the center-right ahead.
The SPD was the biggest loser and will join the Greens and Left party in opposition after plummeting more than 11 points to 23.0 percent, its worst result since World War Two.
TOUGH TALKS
The coalition talks between the parties could be tough, largely because the FDP will be emboldened to make demands after its strong showing.
"Considering the strength of the junior partner, (the ideas) of that party will penetrate negotiations. That includes the simplification of the income tax system as well as tax relief," said Heino Ruland of Ruland Research in a note.
The FDP is also widely expected to push for laws to make it easier for firms to hire and fire. Continued...
View article on single page
Share:
Del.icio.us
Digg
Mixx
Yahoo!
Facebook
LinkedIn
Next Article:
U.S. commander offers troop options for Afghanistan
Analysis
U.S. plan B for Afghanistan has its own problems
While U.S. President Barack Obama wrestles with the idea of committing more troops to Afghanistan, a counter proposal is also on the table -- trim American forces and focus narrowly on counter-terrorism. Full Article | Full Coverage
More International News
U.S. commander offers troop options for Afghanistan
Iran test-fires medium-range missiles: state TV
| Video
Qaeda's Zawahri praises slain figure in new message
Honduras vows to close Brazil embassy, cracks down
| Video
Asylum influx a fresh threat to Australia PM Rudd
More International News...
Video
Merkel wins German vote
Play Video
Germans vote in general election
More Video...
Related News
FACTBOX: German Chancellor Angela Merkel
27 Sep 2009
FACTBOX: Policy in the next German government
27 Sep 2009
FACTBOX: Likely cabinet members in new German government
27 Sep 2009
Featured Broker sponsored link
Editor's Choice
Slideshow
A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. Slideshow
Most Popular on Reuters
Articles
Video
Anger in France and Poland after Polanski arrest
Poland okays forcible castration for pedophiles
Madoff sons, brother, niece to be sued: report
Honduras spurns OAS, vows to close Brazil embassy | Video
4 degrees warming "likely" without CO2 cuts-study
Man sues BofA for "1,784 billion, trillion dollars" | Video
U.S. plan B for Afghanistan has its own problems
UPDATE 2-Gap co-founder Donald Fisher dead at 81
Crawford says Time Warner will sell magazine unit
"Cloudy" again leads struggling box office
Most Popular Articles RSS Feed
Video
Mao friend recalls Chairman
Philippines typhoon aftermath
Merkel wins German vote
Iran tests new missiles in war games
Second day of Korea family reunions
Movie maker Polanski arrested
Arrests over Mexico clinic deaths.
Cyborg beetle flies by wireless
Brazil rejects Honduras ultimatum
Arrests after Jerusalem clashes
Most Popular Videos RSS Feed
analysis
Good news on environment, but can it last?
There's nothing like a recession to help clear the air of toxins and drive down pump prices -- but we all know it can't last. Or can it? Full Article
Video: China's coal addiction hurts climate
Slideshow: Environment watch
Reuters.com:
Help and Contact Us |
Advertise With Us |
Mobile |
Newsletters |
RSS |
Labs |
Journalism Handbook |
Archive |
Site Index |
Video Index
Thomson Reuters Corporate:
Copyright |
Disclaimer |
Privacy |
Professional Products |
Professional Products Support |
About Thomson Reuters |
Careers
International Editions:
Africa |
Arabic |
Argentina |
Brazil |
Canada |
China |
France |
Germany |
India |
Italy |
Japan |
Latin America |
Mexico |
Russia |
Spain |
United Kingdom |
United States
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.