German Chancellor Angela Merkel and and Secretary General of her party the Christian Union, CDU, Peter Tauber arrive for exploratory talks between CDU and the Free Democratic party, FDP, three weeks after election, in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2017. (Bernd Von Jutrczenka/dpa via AP)
The Associated Press
BERLIN (AP) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel is meeting members of three smaller political parties to sound out their red lines before formal talks on forging a coalition government.
Merkel's Christian Democratic Union and its Bavaria-only sister party the Christian Social Union took about a third of the vote in September's general election - not enough to govern alone.
Because the center-left Social Democrats have said they're not interested in continuing the current "grand coalition" with Merkel, her Union bloc is holding separate talks Wednesday with the free-market FDP and the environmentalist Greens.
Such a coalition, dubbed "Jamaica" because the parties' colors match that of the Caribbean nation's flag, hasn't been tested at the national level before.
All four parties are expected to meet together for the first time Friday.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrives for exploratory talks between her Christian Union, CDU, and the Free Democratic party, FDP, three weeks after election, in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2017. (Bernd Von Jutrczenka/dpa via AP)
The Associated Press
German Chancellor and chairwomen of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Angela Merkel, front left, the faction leader of the CDU, Volker Kauder, right, and the chairman of the Christian Social Union (CSU), Horst Seehofer, rear, attend a meeting at the Reichstag building prior to exploratory talks with the Free Democratic party (FDP) in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2017. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)
The Associated Press