Coalition talks stall in Baden-Württemberg

Germany's first Christian Democrat (CDU) and Green party coalition stalled on Tuesday as the parties in the state of Baden-Württemberg announced they would have to enter a third round of talks, local media reported. If the parties cannot reach a deal by the end of these negotiations, they risk losing the possibility of forming a stable government.

Nearly two weeks after regional elections, the state's popular Green premier Winfried Kretschmann (pictured above), who ended nearly 50 years of CDU rule in 2011, said there were still points of contention between the center-right and center-left parties had yet to be resolved.

Speaking in the state capital of Stuttgart, Green party parliamentary leader Edith Sitzmann downplayed concerns that a smaller third party would have to join the talks, telling the press that coalition discussions were "all right."

"People are getting to know other another and exchange their views on different points," Sitzmann added, without elaborating further.

Peter Hauk, the current leader for the CDU in the southwestern state, said he had confidence that a basic coalition agreement could come as soon as Wednesday.

The Greens rose to historic heights in the state at 30.3 percent of the vote on March 13's elections, while the CDU continued to sink in popularity down to 27 percent, a loss of 12 points on 2011's results. What was most disconcerting across Germany, however, was the strong success of right-wing populists the Alternative for Germany (AfD). With 15.1 percent of the vote, the anti-migrant party shocked the state by coming out ahead of the Social Democrats (SPD), who along with the CDU make up the long-standing mainstream of traditional German politics.