German Greens leadership steel party for government

BERLIN (AP) — The leaders of Germany’s environmentalist Green party are urging their members to seize the chance to join the country’s next government. The Greens placed third in Germany’s national election last week with 14.8% of the vote. They are in a strong position to form a governing coalition under the first-placed Social Democrats and the pro-business Free Democratic Party, which came in fourth. A coalition between the Greens, the Free Democrats and outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s center-right Union bloc is also possible. Merkel’s party placed second in the parliamentary election with 24.1% of the vote, its worst-ever result. One hitch for either coalition is the left-leaning Greens’ long-standing animosity toward the Free Democrats’ free-market ideology.