The embattled Chancellor joined calls for a fresh election earlier today, admitting she would prefer a return to the polls rather than form a minority government – saying Germany needed stable leadership in the coming months.
Hopes of a coalition officially fell apart last night, as the embattled Chancellor’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU), its Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union (CSU), the pro-business Freedom Democratic Party (FDP) and the Green party failed to come to an agreement.
The parties have battled it out for more than four weeks but the collapse on Sunday means Merkel now has just two choices open to her – form a minority government or head back to the polls.
Asked what should happen now, 63 per cent of Germans believe there should be a fresh general election while 29 per cent believe there should be a minority government.
The survey, conducted for German public broadcaster Tagesschau by polling firm Infratest dimap, also found that 57 per cent say they regret the collapse of the Jamaica coalition.
This outcome would have seen Merkel and her CDU/CSU join forces with the FDP and the Greens – but the parties were split over immigration and emissions cuts.
While a further 31 per cent say they welcome the collapse, according to the poll.
Of the 1,011 people surveyed, just nine per cent believe Ms Merkel’s CDU party were responsible for the collapse of the Jamaica coalition.
Another 32 per cent believe the FDP are responsible for the failure, which came just days after Christian Lindner, the party’s leader, dropped out of talks after parties failed to agree on key issues including immigration and Europe.
Mr Lindner told reporters: “It is better not to govern than to govern badly. Goodbye.”
Germany has been left at a political stalemate for almost two months after the September 24th election failed to return a good result for Mrs Merkel.
SDP leader Martin Schulz refused to back Mrs Merkel in any deal and called for further elections this morning in the hope of regaining seats.
But 44 per cent believe the SDP should be more open to a coalition while 50 per cent believe they should stick to their guns.
The decision will now fall to Germany’s president Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who has the power to dissolve parliament and call an election or encourage Mrs Merkel to carry on her negotiations.
As coalition talks descend into chaos, however, it could spell the end of Mrs Merkel’s career at the top of German politics.
The survey was conducted on November 20 and a 1.4-3.1 per cent margin of error.