SPD leader warns another German election would cause party further harm

Martin Schulz, the head of Germany's Social Democratic Party, urged members of his party to endorse coalition talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel and her Christian Democratic Union in order to avoid another national election that could cause the party further damage.

Nearly four months removed from national elections, Merkel has failed to form a majority government in the Bundestag and continued failure to craft a so-called "grand coalition" between the nation's two biggest parties could lead to another round of elections or the first minority government in Germany's post-war history.

Schulz has been trying his best for some weeks to secure support among rank-and-file party members for formal negotiations with the CDU to avoid his party losing more seats to the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party which entered parliament for the first time as a result of the September elections.

He said, rejection of the talks "would lead to new elections, and in pretty short order," adding that the SPD, which posted its worst result since losing to Adolf Hitler in the 1933 elections, was likely to see further losses in any new poll.

"If the parties do not succeed in forming a government with the majorities in the Bundestag, then voters will punish them," he said.

Kevin Kuehnert, the leader of the SPD's youth wing, and other opponents of a coalition government claimed the blueprint laid out between the two parties fell far too short of the SPD's goals.

But Schulz has insisted that it would benefit citizens, saying "The exploratory talks created a framework for what is possible and what isn't."

"After all, we don't want the other side to question things that we fought for and won," he concluded.