Germany Keeps Rational Continuity - Angela Merkel to Form Her Fourth Government

Germany's Social Democratic Party (SPD) has given a vote of approval for the party to enter a new grand coalition government with Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its sister party, the CSU, thus ending five-months of uncertainty and affirming a pattern of rational continuity under the leadership Merkel.

Last fall, no party gained a clear majority in the German elections and as a result, Merkel was forced to enter a coalition government or to call new elections. Negotiations with the SPD culminated last night as the postal-mailed ballots to members of the SPD were counted revealing 66 percent of members endorsing the coalition and affording Merkel the opportunity to form her fourth government after 12-years of leadership.

Merkel's tenure in Germany ever since 2005, has brought strong economic gains, rational world leadership and a strong partnership within the European Union (EU). Yet, Merkel, in extending a responsible humanitarian helping hand to hundreds of thousands of refugees between 2015 and 2016, angered some Germans, especially those within the far right, who opposed immigration.

In spite of the anger, Merkel continued to epitomize modern Germany's world responsibility to human rights concerns. Refugees were housed. And though she and her party failed to gain a clear majority of the seats in last year's election, Merkel remained in a position to form a coalition government.

Prior to last night's final approval of the grand coalition government, the possibility that Germany's youth within the SPD would derail the coalition did not materialize as the majority of members voted for and sought a continuity of Merkel's German and world leadership.

Thus, today, a rational continuity to world leadership has been saved in Germany renewing a global hope to level-headed solutions to many world problems including wars in Syria and Yemen, a pending trade war, nuclear threats, Donald Trump's isolationist policies and many destabilizing immigration issues.