German Chancellor Angela Merkel, head of the Christian Democratic Party CDU and Social Democratic Party SPD leader and top candidate Martin Schulz attend a political TV chat show in Berlin, Germany, September 24, 2017. REUTERS/Gero Breloer/POOL - RC1F49319D50
BERLIN (Reuters) - The leader of Germany's Social Democrats came under growing pressure on Thursday to drop his opposition to a new "grand coalition" with Angela Merkel's conservatives, with senior politicians arguing the party had a duty to promote stability.
Merkel is facing the biggest political crisis of her career since efforts to forge a three-way coalition with the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) and Greens collapsed last weekend. That has raised worries across Europe of a prolonged leadership vacuum in the continent's economic powerhouse.
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