“To be honest, things are hanging by a thread,” Alexander Dobrindt, a top negotiator for the Christian Social Union, the Bavarian sister party of Merkel’s Christian Democrats, said | Sean Gallup/Getty Images German coalition talks ‘hanging by thread’ Angela Merkel and would-be partners try again after missing deadline.

BERLIN — Angela Merkel’s prospects of forging a coalition government with the Greens and liberal Free Democrats face growing doubts, with the parties still far apart on a host of issues after a month of talks.

Negotiators reconvened Friday afternoon after missing a self-imposed Thursday deadline for reaching a preliminary agreement. Yet there was little optimism a deal could be reached quickly after Thursday’s tense, all-night negotiating round failed to produce any headway.

“To be honest, things are hanging by a thread,” Alexander Dobrindt, a top negotiator for the Christian Social Union, the Bavarian sister party of Merkel’s Christian Democrats, said on his way into Friday's session.

While the chancellor has continued to insist a deal is possible, the parties’ failure to record substantial progress after a month of talks has left many participants and outside observers pessimistic.

“We discussed two of the 100 remaining points and got stuck on the third,” a visibly fatigued Wolfgang Kubicki, a Free Democrat leader, said on his way into Friday’s round.

“It’s extremely important that we don’t see an expansion of migration,” — CSU leader Horst Seehofer

The parties remain divided across a spectrum of issues, from climate policy to migration, Europe and taxes.

Though negotiators refrained from setting a new deadline, they are under pressure to secure a preliminary consensus ahead of a Green party convention scheduled for November 25. The Greens need the convention’s approval in order to push forward with formal talks.

While the current round of negotiations is considered “exploratory,” the Greens’ procedural requirements have meant the discussions have been much more detailed than usual. If the parties can reach a preliminary deal that passes muster with the Green party's convention, the chances for securing a formal coalition agreement are high, analysts say.

Questions surrounding refugee policy have proved to be the most intractable in the talks. The Greens want to allow war refugees already in Germany to send for their family members at home, something the CSU firmly rejects.

“It’s extremely important that we don’t see an expansion of migration,” CSU leader Horst Seehofer said early Friday.

Bavarian complications

For the CSU, which faces a state election in Bavaria next fall, the refugee issue is non-negotiable. The party, which lost a significant chunk of its supporters to the far-right Alternative for Germany in September’s national election, fears a further erosion of its base if it doesn’t take a hard line on migration.

As important as joining the next government in Berlin is to the CSU, maintaining its dominance in Bavaria, where it has an absolute majority, is even more essential.

But so far the Greens, who have ceded some ground on climate-related issues, have refused to budge on refugees.

After emerging from the talks after 4 a.m., Green leader Katrin Göring-Eckardt stressed that despite making “painful” concessions, the Greens wanted to continue the dialogue.

Even so, it was clear after Thursday’s round that the atmosphere in the talks, particularly between the CSU and the Greens, has become increasingly tense.

Seehofer accused a Green official of making “false statements” about a power struggle within the CSU, calling on Green leaders to keep their people in line.

Another concern is that even if they do manage to strike a deal, the sniping between the parties would continue, leaving the government unstable.

Seehofer faces an internal challenge to his leadership, a reality that has further complicated the negotiations. The other parties worry that if Seehofer doesn’t survive the attempt to oust him, his successors may not honor whatever deal he strikes.

Another concern is that even if they do manage to strike a deal, the sniping between the parties would continue, leaving the government unstable.

It would be up to Merkel to keep the players in line, something she has failed to do during the negotiations. What critics say has been missing from the talks is a forceful presence from the chancellor. Most of the disputes on policy have been between the Free Democrats, the Greens and the CSU.

Merkel has tried to play the role of moderator in an effort to find compromises, instead of staking out her own hard positions. But that approach has left the talks adrift, some participants complain privately.

Merkel might be betting that the parties will eventually come together, rather than risk a new election. With the Social Democrats continuing to insist they wouldn’t entertain a grand coalition with the CDU and Merkel shying away from a minority government, a fresh election has become a real possibility.

More and more Germans appear prepared for that outcome. Nearly 70 percent said they would support another go at the ballot box if the talks fail, according to a poll released by German public television on Friday.