B o we will hound them the skills that are not so govern them govern badly so that i wont be part of American Government tomorrow fists will fly safely its obvious that the s. P. D. Cant govern for the foreseeable future. September twenty fourth twenty seventeen was a day that shook the country the germans went to the polls but they would have to wait a long time for a new government this was the start of a lengthy process full of twists and turns recriminations and flipflops a process without us. Citizens in postwar germany. There can be no government against our wishes thank you so this is a pretty good day for social democrats in germany it will cut the. We will take back our country and people so we. Had a massive blow. To the stomach. And see if you go home weve arrived at the happy moment when we have finally established ourselves in german politics. At six pm we already knew that the s. P. D. Wanted to go into the opposition to the opposite to everyone was heaping pressure on the free democrats but also from on the topic of course. Things suddenly got complicated for me and for all of us. The day after the election everyone was trying to get their bearings and every word could come back to haunt politicians. This had. What did the c. D. U. And us the candidate for chancellor do wrong what should have been different. If. I can just be i dont see that we should have done anything differently. But i thought the campaign through the line made it what it was in the day after i dont see that. I dont see it differently than yesterday or the day before that or two weeks ago. Mr schultz says chancer candidate you kept open the possibility of serving under chancellor merkels. I didnt rule that out i was question where did you get that. You specifically kept the merkel cabinet option open. When. Weeks ago i asked whether you like your predecessor would rule it out if you didnt do so thats why im asking you now do you rule out serving as a cabinet minister under medical in a conservative government. If you ask me that here here with colleagues heard me say well i didnt know you sure. That you could you can answer the question now. One might repeat the question. My memory is. Three the b. B. C. Africa. Mr schultz do you rule out serving as a minister under medical and a conservative government. Minister yes of course you know i wont be part of the government. Its. Only a few months ago martin short its had been hailed as the social democrat savior but this statement would dog the failed chancellor candidate and ultimately cost him his job. I think in hindsight no one is more upset about it than chilton self but thats politics the cameras are always rolling. And once something is said you cant take it back. But. Both conservatives and the s. P. D. Did poorly in the election so the first attempts to form a government focused on a socalled Jamaica Coalition with the center right free democrats and the greens. But not all negotiators toed the line. Yeah we talked first with the conservatives if you will and then with the greens. And there was a willingness to explore what was possible. It. Became in the tribe was never a big fan of jamaica and nothing made me change my mind other pows its shown to. Me and side i felt as though things were about to change that we could begin for tickets as a day things are starting you know its a curious to see myself how negotiations will proceed in such a large group but im confident if i am to thank you. It soon emerged that some of the negotiators couldnt resist the temptation of social media preliminary talks were held partly in full public scrutiny. Individuals were trying to score points. Since pretty unusual when others publicize conversational situations and negotiations and publicly point out every concession or change in position to vote for. President in there got very upset every time he thought of pressley came from the greens and. This hope is what he himself took pictures of documents and passed them on to journalists. These are full to kofi in the interests who can tell this sort of thing has become a cancer in german politics his script put it to people. Sometimes i got the feeling wed sit in a room for half an hour talking about what wed been saying outside it that makes no sense id never do it again. Then at the end of november twenty seventeen after four weeks upper limit. A coalition one of the parties involved the f. D. P. Dropped a late night bombshell. Testy f. T. P. s about ash my impression was that the f. T. P. Members themselves were surprised that theyd been talking for four weeks yet they had failed to jump ship after the first week man had probably hoping that the conservatives and greens would be at each others throats because thats the thinnest of them coming then they could have said ok its not our fault thats not believe. Its my view its to me it was the final preliminary round and we were all supposed to say whether wed recommend that our party continue the course they offer was up first to be sure its patel for the for me as leader of the varying conservatives if i was determined that we wouldnt be the problem that sees who were these are from british try to. Then it was christian londoners turn he offered to let us go first i thought hold on they got more votes he should speak first and. That still is Club Obviously when it became clear that wed heard enough and that our project for renewing the country and our values could not be realised that was when we said were pulling out because our viewers who want to use a farmers. Son but it was a little number one just because then christian then theyre asked to speak with miss america i thought as he was explaining why he was a bad ending the talks america got a text message telling her that journalists were already talking about how the f. T. P. Had discontinued the negotiations of the founding fathers. There had already informed someone and with that act of communication the situation had become irreversible ops on deal going up with income and otherwise america could have said lets talk about it some more or please consider this you know like we did took away all of her options for staying in. The bargaining table to hide because he also found. And he wont be quite as much to start with i was just completely exhausted. And in time that turned into disappointment sarcasm and anger. But emotionally it was a bit like youve just overcome a host of difficulties to plan a wedding and now were being left at the altar its weird as though someone were running from the church like before giving a cup of coffee if this is going a cart feels like a bride who got left at the altar isnt it just shows that the greens didnt carry on an open ended negotiations and the four hundred flights were planning to form a government and somehow all along. That was the f. T. P. Ever really interested in forming this sort of coalition or with the talks just for show. The other former negotiating partners have their doubts. That it will eventually about russia as closely we were quite surprised when our f. T. P. Colleagues stood up grabbed their jackets and went outside we followed what they said out there on t. V. The house is that it its the best its better not to govern to govern badly you get by. All the does it is that responsible behavior yes or we wouldnt do it because uncle america when it happens again america became really grim. Months ago has rarely seen her like that. She wasnt acting for the t. V. Cameras. For the fence e. Commerce she took it personally. A short time later she told me. To. The way want to get rid of me. Want to get rid of. Me. Oh Good American cause thank you. It was a major defeat for math and her attempts to moderate and her willingness to discuss things until the early hours of the morning had failed. Us but daughter this means that i will be contacting the german president tomorrow to inform him about the state of play its heading. For instance that i will just have to see how things develop because. A few hours later the entire s. P. D. Leadership restated its determination to go into the opposition leading the way with martin show its. Still under z. Shifts the spot again in light of the results of the september the twenty fourth election was written and we are not available for a grand coalition so if you and i had to and. Guns wish we could have waited to see what the other party said about their failure to Reach Agreement and we can but they could have waited to see what conservatives would offer the s. P. D. Get it when it is one of the s. P. D. Happened so common misson d. M. D. s of ham to say it again one day after talks between the f. T. P. The conservatives and the greens had failed it was like opening your mouth without thinking it was due. Infinitely a mistake and we need to find deadlock in the meetings airshaft session because its the media put us under a lot of pressure to take a position right away to talk about his mother when it generates headlines when you dont comment or say that you will comment but havent made a decision yet to come and it must and then you have to deal with the headlines as it happens in the headline that day could have been schultz no longer rules out grand coalitions with. They were trying to avoid that. And an office of his from mine yesterday was hounded theirs and i love that scream this is they were all hounded by the media meaning as a soft. Dismantle also reacted quickly a few hours after show its a statement she too said she was sticking to her guns. So you. Didnt see them but are you still willing to carry on are you saying im ready to stay. In them by come from other people always asked me during the campaign if i was willing to serve as germanys chancellor for four years its only been two months it would be pretty strange if because the f. D. P. Decided to discontinue negotiations i now said what i told voters no longer applies so the answer is yes and even gotten by come for the students. But what about should it after pressure from germanys president he and the s. P. D. Gave in backing down from their categorical refusal to negotiate with the conservatives the party was in crisis. Movers and shakers in berlin attended the annual political journalists ball. But while they may have said case or us a rock others were angry at germany going around in circles. At the other end of germany in South African shows was about to find out his new adversary would come from within his own party because he was. Young eloquent and determined to put principles before pragmatism twenty eight year old s. P. D. Youth leader kevin tonight didnt work against grand coalitions my Party Friends and we say the same not with us who cannot give internet is one of the rising stars of twenty seventeen no one saw him coming kind of probably not even he did to this extent. I think kevin kernot will represent a deep seated desire in the s. P. D. T. V. News in short in a speedy it. Was. Before christmas and the map i was still germanys acting chancellor going about the rituals associated with the job and trying to give the impression that she still had everything under control. At the same time the german president was searching for other coalition alternatives some of the talks ended quickly my. Years into opposites two and. Were in the opposition we have to ensure our voices are heard you know but we have no place in a government with the other parties in the bundestag and the apartheid is its a good this for a lot of my. Things were getting lonely for the most powerful woman in the world. She had built up that reputation in more than twelve years as german chancellor. But did she still have a future as government leader. The president arranged a meeting of old adversaries during the National Election campaign shorts had attacked merkel in stating fashion and c. S. U. Leader host z. Hoffa had criticized her stance on refugees. This far in b. Toward some off and over this it was a crucial evening to conclude it was clear from the first minute on and that the Party Leaders because that would answer the president s call to continue talking more to summon two sets and use indoors to show that theres a migrant failure that you make a coalition has left as all of it is old over in those who are now it seems we can decide how germany is governed about whom we can decide on the shape of politics in germany and europe this is a chance as well we have to weigh our options roles as it was when our being was best us there. With the s. P. D. Join the government or go into the opposition with the party keep its word or change its mind. On the morning of a special Party Conference in berlin short summoned his most loyal party allies to a church service. In whats most emotionally it must have been a deep cut for schultz you have to imagine that he was going to have to put something forward in which he did not believe that he really didnt want to join the government but he simply didnt want to you paul. Asked the boy to heat. Meanwhile only and said the grand coalition were getting warmed up outside the church walked up to a fitting also could tell i didnt know camp was organizing resistance to the Party Leadership and calling for a major internal reforms to the s. P. D. Definitely guns business is a big day because its the first time the s. P. D. Has come together in a big way since the election disaster and we have a lot to talk about this question uses of ottawa jesus answered and smoke rise and go your faith has made you well. To do the sunday people voted against the grand coalition on september twenty fourth and pathetic gather we in the conservatives lost fourteen percent thats hardly a mandate for a new government in order to give all. The look at the homeless and the poor in our cities exposed to cold and scorn its. A group of particularly critical s. P. D. Members had traveled from dont want to the capitol like the partys youth wing they were determined to stop the grand coalition. The pressure was mounting on schlitz and the rest of the s. P. D. Leadership. And the opposition so it is our position is that at the end of the day we reject the grand coalition especially because we dont want the alternative for germany to be the. Biggest Opposition Party in the parliament. And. I think that the s. P. D. Has a historical responsibility an antifascist mission to say were going to lead the opposition from the left. And we want to see results and find solutions you know we need to talk about real content issues. Were missing nice we dont have to govern at any cost. But we cant not cover at all cost thank you for them what we can achieve is the decisive issue dorsett. Them and open up also if you listen to the applause its hard to tell which side is in the majority you know me i prefer. I. Everyone was anxious to hear what kevin kernot would say. I am for being the guy its the Party Executive confirmed this position less than three weeks ago unanimously kind of no grand coalition and let me out martin you said lets put forward our position in unity i wish the executive had done precisely that in the past three weeks we would have saved ourselves lots of debate and ive often said that once feel it but. Yeah we have a vested interest that something remains of our party at the moment but i dont think our strategies will leave anything unharmed by then not but it was by. It was the definitive statement on november twentieth that made everything so difficult. I can understand why parts of the rank and file say people what are you doing that few people i think believed it would backfire so badly especially against him. The party authorized choice to hold exploratory talks with macca meanwhile she kept going about the business of being chancellor. I feel a sense of duty particularly to ensure that germany has a stable government next year so the world is not waiting for us. Then he bit off on the sabbath the. Twenty eighteen libertarian conservative party to c. S. U. Began the new year acting more like an Opposition Party than a member of government it welcome tom garion Prime Minister viktor orban an adversary of machall on the refugee question and c. S. U. Leaders called for a conservative revolution and needled the s. P. D. But enjoyed yet sighing the martin show has to show that the ass p. D. Can be a reliable kalish and partner and put down its internal droste roots rebellion being involved as. Its rotten of the phrase grassroots rebellion was intended to motivate those in the party who had leadership roles but may have felt they didnt have the strength to exercise them or maybe give us the cruft attention they wanted at that stage the role of the c. S. U. Was very counterproductive i never really understood why to be honest it almost made me think the c. S. U. Didnt want to be in the coalition the status quo its own east believe it or. Pressure was mounting on all sides and from within and without distrust was the order of the day as Coalition Talks began the principles were tightlipped and you know i dont see mr thank you. Last night a preliminary negotiations dragged on and on. Would talks fail again. Not in five cybersex like it will be a long night. In a deal be done in spain an outcome is expected by the morning. The talks went on for twenty five hours straight. Im shy to unveil the data three there would have been a massive problem of it all three Party Leaders would have had trouble staying on them. And sooner or later there would have been a new election for the courts with a long drop in oil than in d. C. A half interest and trust get lost during this phase i think there will be immense uncertainty and the german people will be very unsettled so a lot at stake. A huge amount for everyone involved theyre going to have in the back of their minds that their own survival could be on the line. With us i can you believe in the format. Of battle for survival at ten thirty am the bleary eyed negotiators appeared before the media to. Get them out of the box of those to. Be i think the results we thought after extensive talks were excellent. Im highly satisfied. They said yes i agree that there were sticking points. Now it was time for the rank and file at least in the s. P. D. To have their say without their support there would be no grand coalition the dortmund contingent was disappointed by the results of the talks some were afraid the alternative for germany would profit. I think our biggest responsibility is to go into the opposition and not give these people any ground lets go. On the eve of another special Party Convention this time in bonn all the delegates were taking up positions. Should strive to stay at the helm as best he could. Because he also as you can imagine tomorrows Party Conference will determine our direction people feel. Need for discussions. This is the good news to go and you can really feel the tension i think both sides know that this decision will have far reaching consequences for the s. P. D. It can go either way theres no magic formula to satisfy everyone trying to induce me. To. The center of the maelstrom was martin show its a few people knew he was feeling ill. In mind and ill get my ice it would be irresponsible not to take this chance so i got even if. Thats to my heart because whatever happens it wont be the end of the story and definitely not the end of the s. P. D. But it can be the start of a new story which we write with one another lets stare to take this small beginning so that we can be giants in the future. Please vote no just a thief in phoenix where you stuck in a labyrinth but you can also build as a rule you can find your way out of a labyrinth you got in there you just have to find the right way out to friends and pick out off as well maybe were at a crossroads where we need to decide whether to go right or left side must not. Let your shit off of course this is about whether or not the conservatives in the s. P. D. Can form a government but the big question is also whether the s. P. D. In this fall is capable of governing like us. The s. P. D. Was deeply divided a small majority of delegates authorized show it. And the Party Leadership to begin formal coalition negotiations. Three hundred sixty two votes in favor of two hundred seventy nine votes against and one of stench and i thank. You. I. Am sure its entered the next round clearly not at his best. But the core. Of his report card from the kicker. How close was a to a catastrophe this one is a on the spot as it was a very tense situation and we had to work hard to get a majority. I think a negative outcome would have been very dangerous for my party so im relieved. They were and if you were asked a lot in recent days whether you would resign if the vote was no you never answer the question what would you have resigned and thats a look at people. This is the alphabet as partho for the job of Party Chairman is to lead the party as of so speculations about whether someone will quit in a specific situation are always wrong. They give the impression that that person isnt up to the job of leadership thats what those moves are thats why there is no right time to answer this question as of one of these of hardy fish to come. Here have to have the strength to ignore the questions and plow ahead. So on fox we know we all know the force of our thoughts with syrup. But once shots a strength running out. After the bon Party Conference show you speak and considering whether to resign as chairman even if he didnt make it public. Just a lot of readers are not at all feeling on. The political future was unwritten for both shorts and macca for months had passed since the election and germany still had no government. Coalition talks only began at the start of carnival season the politicians leading the negotiations were over port and tired. There are rumors. The public pressure is off. I was told i dont expect a result by midnight this b. T. S. P. D. Simply showed up for and said they wanted the Foreign Ministry the finance ministry and its awesome and the ministry of social affairs minister. Temporary one of them was intrinsic to their participation in the government. So in other words they werent signing on without all three snitched on the. With the distribution of responsibilities is key as we saw in the last legislative period and then its up to appeal to the fact that we didnt control the finance ministry played a role in what all the other ministries could do it. For you so i think it was clear that negotiations would be tough. Mikes up with both mr schultz said you know lets play this thing through this what if he wanted to know which ministry the c. S. U. Would get. Except as we said pretty short politics is Serious Business look. Its not a game you play in a sandbox you know if it went on all night there were periods of silence interruptions and attempts by the chancellor to mediate the prehuman from the council and yes on that point thats nightly so they saw that politician go back to his hotel for a shower and the change of clothes to be wishing them until two weeks in the summer it could take all day be like how long can a day like this last one some people slept on chairs they pull together students or something others prefer the floor. Others who couldnt escape because they were leading the talks just fell silent before i started feeling oranges. And. There was a conversation between shots and say whoa first about an s. P. D. C. S. U. Deal schultz said you know why dont you become interior minister we work well together so this was the same guy who told his Party Conference that the main thing was substance you know one of the big issues was whether refugee family members can come to germany and sure does a hole for who takes a hardline stance on refugees and says. Mark goudeau become the interior minister so i can become foreign minister as a duchess that speaks for itself doesnt just its actually searched the full. It was worth it we all we get it. No new energy for germany or you energy for germany. Because a lot of good things to us. There are a lot of us in this agreement. Its ok. When the deal was announced on february the seventh many in the c. D. U. Were unsettled the chancellor was seen as the loser who was prepared to sacrifice the powerful finance ministry to stay in office. But indulge us. And a president i think mr merkel is someone whos deeply convinced that she can get the best for the country right now house one can come and see you thats one way of putting it but you could also say that her main priority was staying put as chancellor to those he comes up on. That evening after going thirty six hours without sleep Martin Shalit announced he was relinquish in one of his posts thanks. Thanks. And we are not involved in the. Party members vote to join the government. Has an appropriate time after that vote so on and so i will suggest the Party Executive called a special Party Conference. I know at which andrea knowledge should be made the new party leader has done so apartheid forces and good lord if youre home from that because during the negotiations we sensed that his authority was under fire everyone in the s. P. D. Was doing their own thing it is im i can lead me and depending on who you spoke to you were told talk to underpin this or the secretary general or martin short. That was problematic i was out and on a human level i felt sorry for him because in light of time fish while i was because of. If we get a mandate from our party members. In the league i would like to become German Foreign minister. I. Might interest become corrupt. When martin salt announced that he wanted to become foreign minister and in return would hand the chairmanship of the party over to i am to be analogous because i think he saw it as a logical step. You know how to dougie had negotiated the european part of the coalition deal. And his heart is in this area of politics. But he underestimated the reaction of the rank and file who remembered his statement on september twenty fifth ending a. Dizzy sestak of his all saga from from once one says thats when he said he would not join the cabinet and his cup in that kit. But shorts had repeatedly said he would not join a makeover government s. P. D. Members were outraged as was germanys acting foreign minister social democratic mag apia his friendship with shorts was over. My god were in a newspaper interviews Zygmunt Gambrell says his party broke its word and complains about being treated disrespectfully god gabrial quotes his young daughter marie saying dont be sad daddy now you can spend more time with us instead of with a man with hair in his face thats much better the spot of. Using your daughter in a quarrel within your party is unacceptable you know patel you know is on the set so. Accept north thats who as is putting words in her mouth. Or so. Can draw a child into a political conflict is beyond the pale so this is for dick to me. I cant remember anyone ever using a child to try to hurt a political opponent to the point he thank you using a child who is unacceptable. Gabrielles attack helped spell the aswell end of shorts as career and any hope of becoming foreign minister. In this position i experienced highs and lows that hardly anyone has ever felt in politics. Some of it doesnt just roll off you some of it gets under your skin. Is he went from the top right to the very bottom one hundred often or it will take him some time to deal with that. So now he stands there empty handed he has lost everything but after guns no. Votes in for over. An opposite doesnt force with which hes been criticized is out of proportion to the accusation that he revised his promise to go into the opposition. At africa does it for us theres been so much personal aggression and scorn and anger. On him and. If i find it remarkable yeah. Sure the man. In the end the strategy grudgingly pursued by the Party Leadership under shorts led to a continuation of the grand coalition. But no one in the s. P. D. Was celebrating that result as a triumph. Committed s. P. To members of the s. P. D. Have chosen to follow the executives recommendations by a broad majority we now have clarity s. P. D. Will be part of the next government and. The announcement was greeted with icy silence at s. P. D. Headquarters. Is printed as i found the mood pretty frosty none of those watching cheered even the journalists didnt make a sound it was like a box had been ticked off people are looking ahead but no ones enthusiastic and its a divided party in a divided country the five and a half months it took to form the next German Government have left behind some scars. This is on its his word it is a turning point and it is and will be not an isolated case of a get used to the fact that german politics have changed fundamentally and thats good now give us a for ones a show there is some uncertainty among the population that the mechanisms are no longer functioning as we were all used to so far weve always had different numbers of parties in the german bundestag but sooner or later it was clear mostly early on where things were heading the lot of people who shaped the republic i think realize that were living in a time of change and its hard for by some believe that only the era of merkel is over. Others believe that the era of the federal republic of germany is now over with solid popular parties with secure majorities and something new is emerging. And some noise thanks i thank the longest formation of a government in the history of the federal republic of germany over the least many questions unanswered how long will the new government last and who comes after that democracy still has many challenges ahead. I. Was. Last. The barely feel. The scars on. The pain still tangible. The suffering her god. Took. For civvies edge by her. They have survived but do they also have a future. I really understand people who say they dont want to stay here. But i also admire people who want to stay here and who decided to create something. A new beginning in peace time for the people making it possible what needs to happen if tolerance and reconciliation are to stand a chance is fidelity of the fish close ones are really difficult complicated because forgiveness reconciliation forgetting they get stuck in your struggle. Out of darkness cities after more players starting march tenth on t w. Play. In atlanta. Play. This is deja vu news live from berlin an attempted murder with a deadly nerve agent more clues but still no suspects in the poisoning attempt thats left an ax by his daughter and a policeman fighting for their lives despite a call for cool head speculation swirls that russia was behind the attack also coming up danish Inventor Peter Madsen goes on trial for killing journalists