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German party decides on joining Merkel government
Germany's main center-left party is counting votes in a ballot of its members on whether to join Chancellor Angela Merkel in a new government â the key remaining hurdle to Merkel embarking on her third term
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ermany's main center-left party is counting votes in a ballot of its members on whether to join Chancellor Angela Merkel in a new government ' the key remaining hurdle to Merkel embarking on her third term.
The result of the vote by the Social Democrats' more than 470,000 members on whether to join a "grand coalition" under the conservative Merkel is expected later Saturday. It caps the longest effort to form a government in post-World War II Germany.
A widely expected "yes" vote would allow Parliament to re-elect Merkel as chancellor Tuesday. A "no" would leave the future government uncertain and could ultimately lead to new elections.
Merkel's conservatives won Sept. 22 elections but fell short of a majority and saw their previous pro-business coalition partners lose their parliamentary seats.
