Israel:Netanyahu tells Israeli president he can't form a government after election deadlock

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that he could not form a new government, after President Reuven Rivlin tasked with him doing so in the wake of a deadlocked election.

The opportunity to form a stable government will now likely fall to his rival Benny Gantz, who leads the main opposition Blue and White party.

Read more at:Netanyahu tells Israeli president he can't form a government after election deadlock

Germany: German coalition talks collapse- by Peter Teffer

The liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP) pulled out of coalition talks in Germany on Sunday (19 November), leading to an uncertain political future for the EU's largest member state.

The move is a blow to Angela Merkel, leader of the centre-right CDU and chancellor of Germany since 2005, who was expected to lead the coalition government for a fourth time.

But talks between CDU, its Bavarian sister party CSU, the Greens, and FDP, progressed slowly and missed a self-imposed deadline last Thursday.

FDP's leader Christian Lindner said on Sunday that after weeks of talks, there were still many open issues and conflicting goals, but "no common basis for trust".

"It is better not to rule than to rule wrongly," said Lindner around midnight on Sunday.

Read more: German coalition talks collapse

The Netherlands: Going Dutch; Netherlands Pains To Find New Government And Might Embrace Christian Traditionalists - by Marcel Michelson

 More than three months after indecisive parliamentary elections, Dutch political parties are still at loggerheads to find a government with majority backing in parliament.

Following several permutations, and excluding the ultra-right PVV party of populist Geert Wilders, the next government looks set to become a centre-right coalition with the CHU Christian traditionalists. Perhaps it is wise to name a neutral cabinet instead.

While some people in Britain and France would like to see a more proportional electoral system like in the Netherlands, the Dutch elections resulted in a myriad of 13 elected parties splitting 150 seats out of 28 parties that participated.

The VVD liberals of Prime Minister Mark Rutte lost five percent points of the votes but remained the biggest party with 33 seats, ahead of the PVV that obtained 20 seats, Christian CDA at 19, centrist D66 also at 19 and Green Left at 14 seats, a gain of 10. SP also had 14 seats.

Read more: Going Dutch; Netherlands Pains To Find New Government And Might Embrace Christian Traditionalists

The Netherlands: Talks on forming a new government resume after lengthy break

The Dutch Parliament in the Hague

Talks on forming a new four-party coalition government resumed on Wednesday, a day later than planned.

The negotiations should have restarted on Tuesday after a lengthy break, but were postponed so that GroenLinks leader Jesse Klaver could attend his mother’s funeral. ‘My mother would have wanted it no other way,’

Klaver told reporters on his way to the talks. The talks are taking place between the two Liberal parties VVD and D66, the Christian Democrats and the green party GroenLinks.

Three main issues are likely to provide the most sticking points: income policy, climate change and immigration. In terms of income policy, GroenLinks is keen to reduce the pay gap between the rich and poor while the VVD wants to widen the gap between social security benefits and salaries.

The VVD and CDA are opposed to several of GroenLink’s proposals to tackle climate change, although all four parties’ think-tanks have drawn up a common strategy for the environment.

Read more: Talks on forming a new government resume after lengthy break - DutchNews.nl