German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the first session of the new Bundestag | Carsten Koall/Getty Images Merkel to limit finance ministry powers if liberals get control: report Plan includes moving European policy portfolio to the economy ministry

BERLIN – Angela Merkel's conservatives want to strip powers away from Germany's finance ministry if it ends up being controlled by the Free Democrats (FDP,) their would-be coalition partner, German weekly Spiegel reported Saturday.

The German Chancellor's Christian Democrats and their Bavarian sister party are locked in talks with the business-friendly FDP and Greens on forming Germany’s next government.

In a show of strength, the liberals have repeatedly claimed the powerful finance ministry, telling Merkel it's time for her party to step aside after eight years in control.

But, according to Spiegel, which cited anonymous sources "close to Merkel", the Chancellor's party is planning countermeasures to limit the FDP's power if they get to name Germany's next finance minister.

In particular the Christian Democrats want the Economy Ministry, which is likely to be overseen by a minister from her party, to take control over European issues from the finance ministry, Spiegel reported.

This would mean that Germany would be represented by its economy minister – not its finance minister – during Eurogroup meetings in Brussels.

Keeping European affairs in CDU hands would be a boon for French President Emmanuel Macron, as the FDP has repeatedly opposed his proposals for eurozone reform.

The Chancellor's plan also includes moving a department that overlooks financial markets to the economy ministry, the magazine claims.

In last month's general election, the long-term chancellor scored the fourth general election victory of her career but lost heavily to the far right.

After the center-left Social Democrats said they would not spend another term as her junior partner, the only viable option for Merkel became an alliance between her conservative bloc and the liberals and Greens — a combination that has never governed before at the national level in Germany.