Merkel party leader: No overhaul of German coalition deal

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The chairmen of Germany's governing parties, Markus Soeder (CSU), Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (CDU) and Malu Dreyer (SPD), from left, talk to the media at a press conference in Berlin, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2019, to confirm agreement on a reform of the country's pension system, setting aside an ideological dispute that had threatened to unravel the coalition government. (Soeren Stache/dpa via AP)

BERLIN – The leader of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party is rejecting calls for an overhaul of the accord underpinning Merkel’s often-fractious coalition government.

Merkel’s center-right Union bloc leads an alliance with the center-left Social Democrats. Halfway through the parliamentary term, the Social Democrats are choosing a new leadership and are expected to decide next month whether to stay in the coalition.

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One Social Democratic leadership contender has advocated an overhaul of the coalition accord drawn up last year, as has a prominent lawmaker in Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union.

But CDU leader Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer has made clear ahead of a party conference this week that she’s not interested. Kramp-Karrenbauer told Sunday’s edition of the Welt am Sonntag newspaper: “The coalition agreement is valid, and it most certainly will not be renegotiated.”