Letter from berlin: coalition collision exposes chinks in merkel's armor

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everyone, it seems, likes German Chancellor Angela Merkel. World leaders like her for her crystal clear positions on foreign policy issues and her honesty. Germans like her for infusing

German foreign policy with meaning after former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder sidelined Berlin by courting Russia and through his uncompromising position on Iraq. And environmentalists like

her for Berlin's activism on the climate control front. Indeed, it seems these days that the only people who aren't happy with the chancellor's leadership are the members of

her own cabinet. And this month, that dissatisfaction is threatening to tear the fragile governing coalition -- which pairs Merkel's Christian Democrats with the center-left Social

Democrats -- to shreds. The bitterness has become so pronounced that Justice Minister Brigitte Zypries of the SPD went to SPIEGEL with one of the most biting insults yet. Every chancellor

has their own leadership style, she said. "But in such a situation, Gerhard Schröder would have delivered a clear message over a glass of wine: Sit down together and talk it out instead

of fighting via the media." Zypries' broadside was a specific reference to the ongoing debate in Germany about how prepared the country is for potential terrorist attacks. Ever

since early September, when authorities uncovered a terror cell  in Germany apparently planning massive bomb attacks, Berlin's leading political parties have been wrangling over the

best way to confront the threat. Oddly for such a shrill debate, the two parties aren’t terribly far apart when it comes to central issues such as online surveillance of terror suspects and

the criminalization of visits to terror training camps. The two initiatives are broadly supported by lawmakers from both parties. But for two CDU ministers, that isn't enough. Last

weekend, Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung reiterated that he would order hijacked civilian aircraft be shot down, even without legal backing, were they part of an impending terror attack.

And Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble -- well known for rocking the boat -- one-upped him by warning of the danger of a dirty bomb going off in Germany. Despite a rapid Schäuble

climb-down, it didn't take long for the SPD to cry foul. And this weekend, virtually all the party' heavyweights took a swipe at Merkel's CDU. Foreign Minister Frank-Walter

Steinmeier accused the conservatives of playing fast and loose with the German constitution and of stoking "latent fears." Vice Chancellor Franz Müntefering told the _Frankfurter

Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung_ that the two CDU ministers had "crossed a red line." And SPD party head Kurt Beck told _Welt am Sonntag_: "Unfortunately, one has the impression

that the warnings from Mr. Schäuble aren't free of political calculation. I have asked him to cease setting off alarms only to back-pedal afterwards." Indeed, the climate in Berlin

has become so poisoned that even Chancellor Angela Merkel has had little luck in getting her coalition to pipe down. She has asked both Schäuble and Jung to zip it, and has met with both

Müntefering and Beck in an effort at "de-escalation." She has also urged her party comrades at the CDU to stop pouring salt in SPD wounds. But nothing seems to have worked and her

brawling underlings seem to be getting more vicious with each other by the day. MERKEL OPTING FOR SOFTLY-SOFTLY APPROACH The coalition crisis, which many observers say is serious enough to

threaten the government's future, comes as a surprise. As recently as this summer, many were wondering how Merkel's government was going to spend its last two years given that most

items had already been crossed off the coalition's to-do list . Merkel herself seemed reluctant to push things, out of fear of throwing her party's uneasy truce with the SPD out

of kilter. Now, though, she seems to have been caught off guard by the vehemence of the SPD's reaction to Schäuble's public musings. Even worse, it is becoming increasingly obvious

that, when it comes to her interior minister, there is precious little she can do about it. Just last Monday, SPD-boss Beck telephoned her to request that she put Schäuble on a shorter

leash. That's not possible with him, she replied. History seems to bear her out. For much of Merkel's career, Schäuble was ahead of her on the CDU seniority ladder. Neither one of

them seems to have gotten used to the flip-flopped authority now that Merkel heads up the party. Three times during Merkel's term, Schäuble has triggered debates that have threatened

the government's stability -- in December 2005 when he said he could imagine using information garnered through torture; in July when he publicly mulled over the targeted killings of

terror suspects; and now with his dirty bomb warnings. Each time, the SPD has roared in disapproval and Germans have shaken their collective heads in disbelief (this week, fully 60 percent

of those surveyed think their interior minister is guilty of scaremongering). And each time, Angela Merkel has had trouble bringing Schäuble back in line. Much of the trouble may be of

Merkel's own making. She has never been fond of using her constitutionally-granted power when it comes to orienting the government. She often seems to prefer waiting to see which

direction the political winds are blowing before venturing out into the open. Indeed, it seems that hardly a week goes by without a government minister openly pining for a clear statement of

position from the chancellery. All of which doesn't make Merkel's job this autumn any easier. When it comes to terror legislation, the SPD will likely end up supporting

Schäuble's initiative to allow online surveillance -- assuming Schäuble doesn't put them on the defensive again. And only technical questions remain before Zypries can present a

terror-camp bill. But when it comes to Merkel's position, after a week of cabinet infighting, it looks weaker than it has in a long time . And if history is any judge, the next

Schäuble-triggered brawl is likely not far off. _With reporting from SPIEGEL staff_