Merkel tries to build coalition after election

Merkel will start talks with the Free Democrats and the Greens as well as the SPD, to keep her coalition options open

Germany’s Angela Merkel began the tough task of trying to build a government on Monday after securing a fourth term as chancellor, urging the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) not to shut the door on a rerun of their “grand coalition”.

Damaged by her decision two years ago to allow more than one million migrants into Germany, Merkel’s conservative bloc secured 33 per cent of the vote, losing 8.5 points —its lowest level since 1949. Her coalition partners, the centre-left Social Democrats, also slumped and said they would go into the Opposition.

Voters flocked to the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD), the first