German government faces make-or-break moment in shadow of US election – POLITICO

BERLIN — As the United States elects its president, Germany’s already teetering coalition is facing a crunch week that could spell the end of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government.

Scholz is set to meet Economy Minister Robert Habeck from the Greens and Finance Minister Christian Lindner from the fiscally conservative Free Democratic Party (FDP) for crisis talks Tuesday and Wednesday aimed at heading off a budget conflict that has aggravated tensions in the fractious three-party governing coalition.

“Regardless of the outcome of the U.S. election, I believe that this country deserves to be governed responsibly, and we will see in the next few days whether everyone can muster the strength to actually do so,” Saskia Esken, one of the leaders of Scholz’s Social Democratic Party (SPD), told reporters on Monday.