Immigration and Refugees

The huge influx of migrants has emerged as a polarizing issue in Germany and contributed to the drop of 14 percentage points in support overall for the negotiating parties. Many of those voters switched to the far-right Alternative for Germany, which campaigned on an anti-immigrant platform.

Immigration remains one of the biggest sticking points in the talks. Conservatives and Social Democrats are split over the number of people who should be allowed to enter the country and to apply for protection on humanitarian grounds. Ms. Merkel and the Bavarians are holding to a limit of 200,000 applications, but the Social Democrats are opposed to any restrictions.

The Social Democrats support legislation that would allow Germany to admit qualified immigrants to fill thousands of openings in companies and factories. The official in charge of Germany’s national labor agency has said the country will need 300,000 qualified immigrants annually to fill the gaps, because record employment has made it difficult to find enough workers. Conservatives are reluctant to back any new measures that would allow more foreigners to enter the country.

Health and Elder Care

The Social Democrats would like to replace the current mix of private and public providers with a universal system financed by taxpayers, similar to Britain’s National Health Service. That would end what they see as effectively a two-class system, but Ms. Merkel’s conservatives want to preserve the current system.