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German coalition avoids split with solution to spymaster crisis
Source: Reuters
WORLD NEWS SEPTEMBER 23, 2018 / 9:11 AM / UPDATED 2 HOURS AGO
German coalition avoids split with solution to spymaster crisis
Michelle Martin
4 MIN READ
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel’s ruling coalition resolved a dispute over Germany’s scandal-tainted spymaster on Sunday, ending a crisis that had prompted concerns the six-month-old government could fall apart.
The three coalition parties had agreed on Tuesday to transfer spy chief Hans-Georg Maassen to the Interior Ministry following accusations that he harbored far-right views. Maassen had questioned the authenticity of video footage showing radicals hounding migrants in the eastern city of Chemnitz.
But their decision sparked public outrage because the senior post they picked for Maassen came with a pay rise. Some members of the Social Democrats (SPD) — the junior partner in Merkel’s coalition — had called for their party to quit the alliance if the decision was not revoked.
The deal unraveled on Friday when Andrea Nahles, leader of the center-left SPD, said it was a mistake. A poll published on Thursday had shown 72 percent of voters had less confidence in the government after the clumsy compromise.
After a meeting between the party leaders on Sunday to hammer out a new compromise, Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said they had agreed Maassen would work in the Interior Ministry in future but would not receive a pay rise.
-snip-
German coalition avoids split with solution to spymaster crisis
Michelle Martin
4 MIN READ
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel’s ruling coalition resolved a dispute over Germany’s scandal-tainted spymaster on Sunday, ending a crisis that had prompted concerns the six-month-old government could fall apart.
The three coalition parties had agreed on Tuesday to transfer spy chief Hans-Georg Maassen to the Interior Ministry following accusations that he harbored far-right views. Maassen had questioned the authenticity of video footage showing radicals hounding migrants in the eastern city of Chemnitz.
But their decision sparked public outrage because the senior post they picked for Maassen came with a pay rise. Some members of the Social Democrats (SPD) — the junior partner in Merkel’s coalition — had called for their party to quit the alliance if the decision was not revoked.
The deal unraveled on Friday when Andrea Nahles, leader of the center-left SPD, said it was a mistake. A poll published on Thursday had shown 72 percent of voters had less confidence in the government after the clumsy compromise.
After a meeting between the party leaders on Sunday to hammer out a new compromise, Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said they had agreed Maassen would work in the Interior Ministry in future but would not receive a pay rise.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-germany-politics-eu/german-coalition-avoids-split-with-solution-to-spymaster-crisis-idUSKCN1M30K7
