Forhandlingene om en ny storkoalition begynder onsdag. CDU/CSU stiller sig uforstående over for, at SPD torsdag gik ind for dannelsen af et Europas forenede stater inden 2025. Meningsmålinger viser, at kun en tredjedel af vælgerne er for, 48 procent er imod.

SPD havde, i lighed med søsterpartier over hele Vesteuropa, et markant nederlag ved valget. Nu synes ledelsen at mene, at endnu større skub i integreringen af EU, er løsningen. Det gør afstanden til Merkel og CDU større. For CDU/CSU er et sådant forslag imod den vej, som de politiske vinde blæser.

SPD leader Martin Schulz said on Thursday his party, which suffered its worst post-war election result in September, would only gain support by providing a clear vision of Europe, and called for a United States of Europe by 2025. (…)

Senior conservative Volker Kauder said Schulz’s European proposal posed “a danger to the EU and citizens’ approval of Europe” and Peter Altmaier, Merkel’s chancellery chief, said the idea, and especially the timeframe, was unrealistic.

An Emnid poll for Bild newspaper found less than a third of Germans (30 percent) supported Schulz’s idea while almost half (48 percent) rejected it.

Efter manges mening ville et forenet Europa blive styret af Tyskland.

But the SPD defended Schulz’s plan, with Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel telling Deutschlandfunk radio it would ensure Europe’s voice is heard on the global stage at a time when the influence of Asia, Latin America and Africa is growing.

Vi ser flere tegn, med Corbyn som det værste, på, at socialdemokraterne vælger at gå til venstre og omfavne gammel symbolpolitik, i stedet for at gå løs på de problemer, som landene står til halsen i, med svagere offentlige finanser og en befolkning, som er splittet.

German conservatives reject ‘United States of Europe’ ahead of coalition talks