Uncertain start to post-Merkel era after close German vote

By GEIR MOULSON
Associated Press

BERLIN (AP) — The party that narrowly beat outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s bloc is pushing for a quick agreement on a coalition government, but Europe’s biggest economy could still be in for weeks of uncertainty after an election that failed to set a clear direction. Olaf Scholz of the center-left Social Democrats called for Merkel’s center-right Union bloc to go into opposition on Monday after it saw its worst-ever result in a national election. Both sides finished with well under 30% of the vote, and that appeared to put the keys to power in the hands of two opposition parties. The unclear result, combined with an upcoming French presidential election, create uncertainty at the center of the European Union.