BERLIN, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- CSU leader Horst Seehofer has warned Monday ahead of negotiations over the formation of a "Jamaica" coalition in Germany that relations between his party and their conservative sister party Christian Democratic Union (CDU) had fallen to a historical low.
The CDU and CSU traditionally form a joint faction in Germany's Federal Parliament (Bundestag). The newspaper "Sueddeutsche Zeitung" cited Seehofer describing the high-level discussions between the two parties scheduled for coming Sunday as the "most difficult" talks since the CSU briefly dissolved its association with the CDU in 1976 before reversing the decision.
Seehofer stressed his view that the CDU and CSU needed to agree on a unified stance before officially entering any coalition negotiations with the Free Democratic Party (FDP) and Greens (Gruene). The CSU leader has reportedly cleared his schedule entirely in order to prepare for the meeting which will be attended by CDU leader Angela Merkel, secretary of the chancellery Peter Altmaier and CDU parliamentary faction leader Volker Kauder amongst others.
The CSU will be represented by Seehofer, its lead election candidate Joachim Herrmann, secretary general Andreas Scheuer and former Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt.
Scheuer supported Seehofer's insistence on Monday not to commence formal talks about the party's entry into a coalition government until it had coordinated itself with the CDU.
According to Scheuer, the most urgent task was now for the joint CDU/CSU faction to hold consultations on why the electoral alliance had failed to defend its voter share in federal elections. He spoke of a "trend of discontent" which had swept across Germany and needed to be reversed.
As a consequence, Seehofer said that he expected concrete answers from the CDU on topics such as pensions and social care. The touchiest subject likely to be encountered in talks between the conservative sister parties, is migration policy, however. The CSU has promised voters a fixed annual cap of 200,000 refugees to be admitted to Germany, a proposal repeatedly rejected by Merkel.
Seehofer noted in the "Sueddeutsche Zeitung" that there was "no chance" to form a new government without the CSU's participation.
The CSU leader is widely seen to be fighting for his political survival after the CSU recorded heavy losses in recent Federal Elections. There have been calls from senior party members for Seehofer's resignation with Bavaria's regional Finance Minister Markus Soeder being tipped as a potential successor.
In the meantime, the FDP announced its intention on Monday to start "bilateral" formal coalition negotiations with the CDU/CSU without the Greens.
The FDP is likely to see this strategy as a means to find shared positions with the CDU/CSU, for example with regard to migration, and thus strengthen its negotiating hand against the Greens.
Lindner emphasized that an agreement to lower the fiscal burden was a "condition" which needed to be met for his party to enter government.
In turn, green party politician Robert Habeck urged his party's potential coalition partners in the "Sueddeutsche Zeitung" to focus on the positions they shared instead of "continuously drawing red lines."
Habeck's comments were echoed by CDU governor of Saxony-Anhalt Reiner Haseloff, who voiced confidence that a "Jamaica" could be successful if all parties involved prioritized the solution of problems over their respective ideologies.
Haseloff who leads a regional coalition government between the CDU, Greens and Social Democrats added that Germans expected "swift government formation to address existing problems".
