Why Merkel is a victim of her own success, according to one analyst 5:48 AM ET Thu, 7 Dec 2017 | 03:11

It all seems like the SPD is going into negotiations with offers the Union cannot accept. Talks, then, are bound to fail. But, in that case, the SPD would not be attacked for refusing to cooperate in providing a stable government for Germany.

There is also the possibility that the SPD leadership could be induced to rescue Merkel by accepting another grand coalition. Unless voted down by the SPD's rank and file, such a move would spell the end to Germany's oldest political party – a similar path to oblivion currently experienced by the French Socialists.

This incredible rigmarole is in stark contrast to the statesmanship displayed by Christian Lindner, a young leader of the center-right Free Democratic Party (FDP). He broke off exploratory talks after it became clear to him that there was an utter lack of trust among potential coalition partners, in addition to seemingly irreconcilable party platforms. Lindner is no longer a media darling, but I am hearing that his party's membership continues to grow.

Lindner is a man to watch. He is, quite possibly, the Macron of Germany.

Interestingly, the French President Emmanuel Macron seems to be playing a subtle game in German coalition talks. Under the guise of trying to offer a way out to his beleaguered "friend" Merkel, he is reported to have worked hard to persuade Schultz to participate in the new government. The idea here is that Schultz would overcome Merkel's refusal of Eurozone's deep structural reforms forcefully advocated by France.

By all appearances, Macron's Florentine flair looks like it might be working. Schultz, a former President of the European Parliament and a keen observer of the French penchant for big ideas, has made Europe the centerpiece of his negotiating program.

Macron's efforts, however, could come to naught because another "Duke of Milan" (Machiavelli used to work for Milan's Duke Francesco Sforza) will be showing a stunning political comeback next March -- and he is leading a group of euro-skeptics dead-set against French-German shenanigans. Italy's former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, rejuvenated by a health treatment in Merano's Alpine spa resorts, will likely command 40 percent of popular vote in next March elections with a three-party alliance of FI (Forza Italia), FdI (Fratelli d'Italia) and LN (Lega Nord).