Red-Green coalition for Bonn likely

“I think that 21 seats is a sufficient majority which also makes it possible to form a stable government,” Schroeder told mediapersons.Kohl’s conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) suffered the worst defeat since 1949 at the hands of Schroeder’s SPD. But Schroeder kept open the option of a grand coalition with the CDU should talks with the often fractious ecologists collapse.

Kohl however,ruled out a grand coalition with the SPD saying his party would assume the role of Opposition “without compromise”.

Middle ranking leaders of the two parties held informal talks shortly after the ruling coalition led by Kohl was ousted in a keenly fought elections even as Schroeder formally invited the Greens for dialogue on government formation.

The leader of the Greens, Joschka Fischer also offered his party’s support for a coalition.

Schroeder did not set any time limit by when the SPD-Green coalition talks would work out the composition of government.

“Precision is important and not speed,” Schroeder said. “We will go ahead with the talks in an efficient manner and be careful and not act in a haste.”

Technically, Schroeder has time till October 27 by when the Bundestag (lower house) must vote him to office by a simple majority after which the federal president Roman Herzog will formally appoint him the new chancellor.

Leaders of Christian Democrats had an informal meeting to discuss theparty’s debacle but did not appear to be in a hurry to name a successor to Kohl, who has decided to step down as the chairman after leading the party for 25 years.

A successor will be named during CDU’s Congress in November, Kohl said adding that conservatives would continue to have its ties with its Bavarian sister party, the CSU, despite the alliance’s failure at the polls.

Analysts said talks between the Social Democrats and Greens would take some days to forge common positions on several thorny issues.

During the election campaign, the Greens had been pressing for abolition of nuclear energy and to treble the tax on gasoline prices.

The Social Democrats put up the best ever performance in post-war German elections in terms of seats won by getting 298 seats, up by 46 seats. It polled 40 per cent votes.

The CDU-CSU combine lost 49 seats to notch 245 seats with maximum damage being inflicted on the ruling combine in East Germany on the issue of unemployment.

The Greens also worked out a strategymeeting and were optimistic in participating in a national government for the first time since it contested election in 1980.

The successors to the erstwhile Communist Party — Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) — also earned a landmark by crossing the five per cent of the national vote threshold for the first time to get 35 seats exploiting the frustrations in eastern Germany at the Kohl government.

The third option of government formation with the PDS though technically possible has been firmly ruled out by Schroeder who has created history by being the first person to unseat an incumbent chancellor in the elections.