Germany coalition: Merkel courts SPD in pivotal talks

German Chancellor Angela Merkel says she is hopeful that fresh coalition talks aimed at ending the country's political stalemate can succeed.

More than three months after a general election, Germany is still without a new government.

The five-day talks will include Mrs Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU), its sister party the Christian Social Union (CSU), and the Social Democrats (SPD).

Many see this as her last chance to form a stable coalition.

"I believe the talks can succeed," Mrs Merkel said as she arrived at the SPD headquarters in Berlin.

"I'm going into these talks with optimism, indeed it's clear that in these few days we have a huge amount of work ahead of us, but we're willing to take on this work and achieve a good outcome," she added.

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