If confirmed, the deal will still have to be approved by the SPD’s 464,000 party members before the party can join Merkel’s CDU-CSU alliance in power.
Carsten Nickel, managing director for Europe at Teneo Intelligence, told CNBC on Wednesday that the SPD membership ballot was a “real problem” ahead.
“Let’s make no mistake, the real risk, the real problem for the SPD leadership is still ahead and that’s the membership ballot,” he said.
The SPD’s party delegates voted to enter into coalition talks at a party congress in January, the party rank and file that Nickel said had an interest in organizing its voter behavior. The party members could be harder to predict, however.
“With the membership (ballot) it will be a very different game, turnout will be very key. Whether the pragmatic majority that probably accepts this deal, although they’ll by no means love it, turns out to support this deal will be key.”
