Life After Müntefering

Müntefering, a long-time Social Democratic leader and a key figure holding together the country's fractious right-left government, announced his resignation from his posts as deputy chancellor and labor minister on Tuesday, Nov. 13.

The 67-year-old Müntefering, known for his folksy style and good working relationship with Chancellor Angela Merkel, was a moderate who was seen as playing a stabilizing role in the coalition. He said he was leaving office to spend more time with his wife, who has been battling cancer for years.

If Müntefering's departure is not expected to break up the already unwieldy, two-year-old "grand coalition" between Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) and the Social Democrats (SPD), then it is certainly likely to increase tensions, observers said.

SPD leader: "We will pull no punches"

CDU member Jürgen Rüttgers, the premier of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, praised Müntefering in an interview with Deutschlandfunk radio on Wednesday. The SPD leader always spoke directly and tried "to contribute to the success of the grand coalition," Rüttgers said.

Many predict that Müntefering's absence will strengthen Germany's belligerent far-left and, indeed, Müntefering's seat was barely cool when SPD activists began testing waters with a stronger approach.

On Wednesday, SPD acting Vice Chairwoman Andrea Nahles predicted a phase of increased left-right political hostility in Germany.

We will pull no punches," she told rbb-Inforadio noting that the SPD planned to fight especially hard for a minimum wage for postal-delivery workers.

Minimum wage debate is key

Earlier in the week, Merkel's coalition had shot down a Müntefering-backed proposal for a postal minimum wage, leading some to speculate that his decision to step down was a political one.

Nahles insisted that Müntefering's replacements "won't be giving anything away" to the CDU.

"The Union will have to get used to the idea that we will be obdurate in our fight for a minimum wage," she said. "I think Ms. Merkel's grace period has come to an end."

Parliamentarian Olaf Scholz, the SPD's former secretary general, will take Müntefering's job as labor minister, and Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier will become Germany's vice chancellor while retaining his current duties.

Meanwhile, SPD parliamentary group leader Peter Struck also foresaw difficult battles ahead, noting in an interview with Deutschlandfunk that Müntefering was "one of the pillars of the coalition."

Some foresee stagnation

Still, officials from both parties have said they have no desire to call early elections before 2009 because neither of the traditional rivals could win a majority with their coalition partner of choice and would likely end up again having to govern together.

The leader of the opposition free-market liberal FDP, Guido Westerwelle, predicted stagnation in Berlin.

"The coalition is formally still in office, but it has long stopped governing," he said. "It is bad for Germany because we will now have a months-long, and if we are unlucky two-year-long, general election campaign ahead of us."

A representative of the opposition Green party said the cabinet changes indicated that leading government members no longer believe in continuity of the coalition.

Volker Beck, the Green party's secretary general, told the DPA news service that the fact that SPD party chief Kurt Beck decided not to take over the vice chancellor and labor minister positions was a clear sign "that Beck does not trust the peace in Berlin."

"Dramatic challenge" for the coalition

If Beck were to join in the coalition cabinet, it would undercut his ability to wage a campaign opposing the CDU in the next national elections, the Green party politician said.

Müntefering's departure "dramatically damaged" the coalition's situation, giving each party a chance to try and push its own agenda further, he added.

For his part, CDU parliamentary group leader Norbert Röttgen told ARD public broadcaster that he didn't expect the minimum-wage debate to remain the central point of contention for the next two years.

He also cast doubt on the forecasts that government debate would become increasingly hostile.

If that were the case, the politicians who step into Müntefering's shoes would be letting him down by turning their back on what meant most to the politician: his conviction that the SPD "should be part of the grand coalition, and should be identified with its successes."