(Bloomberg) -- Want the lowdown on European markets? In your inbox before the open, every day. Sign up here.The survival of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government hangs in the balance as her disgruntled coalition partner wrestles with its future.A three-day convention for the Social Democrats, which starts Friday in Berlin, marks the party’s latest effort to get itself on track after reluctantly entering a coalition to support Merkel for her fourth term two years ago. The convention is unlikely to spark an immediate withdrawal, but could dial up the already tense relations within the government.The SPD’s newly-elected leaders -- a pair of outspoken coalition critics and Berlin outsiders -- are pushing for concessions from Merkel’s Christian Democrat-led bloc. Many are likely to brush against conservative red lines.SPD Demand ListThe roughly 1,000 delegates are expected to rally behind the demands, which buys time for the duo of Norbert Walter-Borjans and Saskia Esken. The duo won an SPD leadership contest last weekend against a tandem led by coalition loyalist Olaf Scholz, Merkel’s finance minister and vice chancellor.The party’s leaders have softened their campaign pledges, but they will still be under pressure from a restive base and negotiations with Merkel’s bloc won’t be easy.Reopening a climate package that took months to secure will find little support from the CDU and its Bavarian sister party, the CSU. Equally, increasing the minimum wage towards the SPD target of 12 euros ($13) an hour could become a major bone of contention.Pushing too hard could be risky as pulling out of the coalition could trigger a snap election. That could be disastrous with support for the SPD on par with the far-right AfD. The CDU, led by the embattled Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, also has little incentive to seek an early, and Merkel is keen to see out her tenure, especially with Germany set to hold the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of next year.The convention is likely to be rauscous, and the dynamics will give an indication of how much time Merkel has left, even if the SPD’s new leadership is stepping back from the brink.“We have always said that quitting the coalition is not an end in itself,” Walter-Borjans told journalists in Berlin on Thursday. “It’s about content and not about the question of yes or no.”(Adds details on demands in text box)\--With assistance from Iain Rogers.To contact the reporter on this story: Birgit Jennen in Berlin at bjennen1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Ben Sills at bsills@bloomberg.net, ;Chad Thomas at cthomas16@bloomberg.net, Chris ReiterFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

Fri, 06 Dec 2019 03:49:24 -0500

In a brief escape from his legal and political struggles in Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu enjoyed a leisurely excursion in Portugal, keeping a relatively light schedule and finding time to tour the capital and reminisce with reporters about his late father, who was an influential historian. It could turn out to be a last respite as he returns to Israel to fight for his survival after a damning corruption indictment and two inconclusive elections that have left him clinging to power. Netanyahu, accompanied by his wife Sara, tried his best to project business as usual, holding a lengthy meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that he called “critical to Israeli security.” He also met with Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa to discuss joint projects and to thank him for taking a tough stance against anti-Semitism.

Fri, 06 Dec 2019 03:37:22 -0500

Ask voters in this picturesque university town in eastern Scotland how they're voting in next week's election, and they’re likely to transition seamlessly from talking about which candidate they want to send to Parliament to discussing whether or not they want another bite at voting for Scottish independence, which voters rejected in 2014. The question of Scotland's independence from the rest of the United Kingdom is not on the ballot, but it’s uppermost in the minds of many voters in St. Andrews, and elsewhere in Scotland, as they make their final choices.

Fri, 06 Dec 2019 03:22:19 -0500

Trump’s shakedown of Zelensky looks a lot like a payoff to Putin that’s also an invitation for help in 2020. The remedy is impeachment and removal.

Fri, 06 Dec 2019 03:15:05 -0500

An explosion of a heating gas pipe killed at least 11 people and injured 42 others during a wedding ceremony in western Iran, the country's state TV reported on Friday. The report said five children and five women were among those killed in the explosion, which took place late on Thursday evening in the predominantly Kurdish city of Saqqez, about 450 kilometers (255 miles) west of the capital, Tehran. Iran occasionally sees such incidents, which are mainly blamed on widespread disregard for safety measures, old and outdated equipment and inadequate emergency services.

Fri, 06 Dec 2019 02:50:58 -0500