German Interior Minister and Christian Social Union (CSU) leader Horst Seehofer gestures as he speaks to the media after Bavaria election loss, in Berlin, Germany, October 16, 2018. REUTERS/Michele Tantussi

BERLIN (Reuters) - The leader of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Bavarian allies said on Tuesday that his party wanted to remain in the federal coalition despite suffering embarrassing losses in Sunday’s regional election in Bavaria.

“The CSU will - regardless of the situation in Bavaria - continue to do its work as a stable factor in the grand coalition,” Horst Seehofer told a news conference, referring to the coalition made up of his Christian Social Union, Merkel’s Christian Democrats and the Social Democrats.

“We want this grand coalition - we want it to work successfully and we want to participate in it constructively but that doesn’t mean that you can’t have any discussions anymore,” he added.