Greens quit coalition talks with Merkel's party

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BERLIN, Oct. 16 -- Germany's Green party said early Wednesday that it has ruled out further talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) over forming the next coalition government, leaving the main opposition Social Democrats (SPD) as Merkel's only coalition choice.

"We always said it was about seeing whether there was a solid foundation for four years of governing together - and after these talks it appears there wasn't," Greens' co-chairwoman Claudia Roth said after the six hours of exploratory talks, adding that a coalition between the parties is not sustainable.

Hermann Groehe, secretary general of CDU, confirmed there will be no negotiations on a coalition government with the Green Party.

"We will approach the representatives of the SPD tomorrow with a view to scheduling the explorative talks we had already eyed for Thursday," Groehe said.

Merkel's CDU and its Bavarian sister party Christian Social Union (CSU) proved to be the biggest winner in the federal election with 41.5 percent of votes. However, without an absolute majority of the parliament seats, Merkel's conservatives have to find a coalition partner to rule Europe's largest economy for the next four years.

A "grand coalition" between CDU/CSU and SPD, like the one headed by Merkel during her first term in 2005-2009, is supported by most Germans, recent polls showed. But both sides have been unwilling to compromise on key issues, including the introduction of a nationwide legal minimum wage.

The SPD has reiterated its plan to introduce a national minimum wage of 8.50 euros (11.35 U.S. dollars) per hour, while Merkel's party opposes the plan and only supports minimum wage deals struck by employers and trade unions in different industry sectors and regions.

Merkel's CDU/CSU bloc and the SPD have already held two rounds of talks with a third round slated to take place on Thursday.

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