German president urges coalition to remember ‘responsibility for functioning govt’

Germany’s president has urged the governing parties to remember their “responsibility for a functioning government.” Chancellor Angela Merkel’s fourth-term coalition between her conservative Union bloc and the center-left Social Democrats has been through two major crises since taking office in March. On Tuesday, Union lawmakers ousted a close Merkel ally as their parliamentary leader in a blow to Germany’s leader of 13 years. President Frank-Walter Steinmeier told a newspaper group on Thursday that governments should concentrate on substantive work and “citizens expect solutions, not arguments,” AP reports. He added that the president can’t influence the longevity and harmony of coalitions “but the parties should be aware of their responsibility for a functioning government.”