German Election 2017: ‘It’s not over’ Merkel in desperate grab for votes

The Chancellor will take on her main rival Martin Schulz from Germany’s Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the elections. 

Mrs Merkel said in an interview with RTL: “I tell everyone that this election has not been decided yet.

“The CDU does not have a single vote to give away, and I’m just going to include the CSU in this as well.”

The Chancellor criticised Martin Schulz’s SPD for keeping the option of a coalition with the Left party open.

She said: “Unfortunately you can ask anyone of the Social Democrats. None of them will rule out a red-red-green government.

“We can not allow for experiments now during troubled times.” 

The majority of Schulz’s SPD membership opposes a grand coalition and any agreement would need to be passed by SPD members. 

Johannes Kahrs, the party’s budget spokesman in the last parliament, or Bundestag, said that he and many other SPD members would prefer a so-called traffic light coalition with the Greens and the Free Democrats. But polls currently show the three parties short of the necessary support to form a majority.

Mrs Merkel has ruled out any possibility of her party forming a coalition with the AfD or the Left. 

Peter Altmaier from the CDU urged voters to not vote rather than vote for the Alternative for Germany (Afd) party.

He said: “The AfD is dividing our country. They take advantage of the worries and fears of the people. And that is why I believe that voting for the AfD can not be justified – at least not for me.”

The AfD is likely to win 50 Bundestag seats following discontent of Mrs Merkel’s refugee policy. 

Many voters are angry at Chancellor Merkel for her lenient stance on migrants coming to Germany.