German Chancellor Angela Merkel needs the liberal Free Democrats (FDP) and the Green Party to form a new government, but such a coalition will be difficult to form, among other things due to very divergent views of the FDP and Greens on climate and energy issues.
Voters on Sunday punished Merkel's current left-right coalition and for the first time elected the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) into the Bundestag, a result that shocked many Germans and at the same time muddled up the chances for traditional coalitions.
