When German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party and the Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU) won the election two months ago, they did not win enough votes to have a parliamentary majority. That’s meant the two parties have entered into talks to form a coalition with the opposition, the SPD. One of the big issues at stake is a national minimum wage. At the moment Germany doesn’t have one but the SPD wants one. It looks likely that Merkel will give into the demand although she’s said she believes it could lead to a loss of jobs in Germany. Andreas Kluth, the Berlin bureau chief and Germany correspondent for The Economist, fills us in on the debate. (Photo: A.P./Frank Jordans)