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WORLD

German SPD in bid to end crisis

By CNN Correspondent Chris Burns

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The decision by Muentefering (right, with Schroeder) to step aside has thrown coalition talks into crisis.

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BERLIN, Germany (CNN) -- Seeking to put down a leftist rebellion among the ranks that could derail the country's next government, Germany's Social Democratic (SPD) leadership is seeking to install a moderate to replace its outgoing party leader.

Matthias Platzeck, 51-year-old premier of Brandenburg state outside Berlin, has been nominated to succeed Franz Muentefering and will face a confirmation vote at a party congress in Karlsruhe beginning November 14, a party spokeswoman said Wednesday.

The infighting could slow or even jeopardize the Social Democrats' coalition talks with Angela Merkel's conservatives and postpone Merkel's bid to become Germany's first woman chancellor on November 22. The party congress will also need to approve the coalition deal.

Merkel, whose conservatives won just 1 percent more of the vote than Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's Social Democrats in the September election, must reach a power-sharing deal with the Social Democrats over how to fight 11 percent unemployment.

Thursday's round of coalition talks was canceled due to the party turmoil, though working groups continued and the next formal round is still set for next Monday, the Social Democratic spokesman said. The party was meeting Wednesday evening to discuss the leadership changes, she said.

Platzeck, considered a moderate, would represent a new generation of leadership in a party dominated by leaders over 60, including Muentefering and Schroeder.

But Platzeck would have to face the rebellion that prompted the resignation of Muentefering, who failed to get approval of his choice for party general secretary. Instead, leaders elected Andrea Nahles, 35, of the party's left wing.

The party spokeswoman, who declined to be identified, said it was quite possible Nahles would not be confirmed by the party congress and that someone else would be chosen.

The Social Democrats have been deeply split over Chancellor Schroeder's limited market-oriented reforms that failed to bring down double-digit unemployment fast enough to win the September election.

Though Merkel has insisted she will reach a coalition agreement, some politicians and analysts have suggested the talks could fail, forcing either new elections or a different coalition government, possibly among smaller parties.

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