angela merkelAngela Merkel. Christian Hartmann/Reuters
  • Talks about forming a three-party coalition government in Germany dissolved after the free-market liberal Free Democratic Party pulled out on Sunday.
  • Without the FDP, Chancellor Angela Merkel may be forced to form a minority coalition or hold fresh elections just months after the latest elections.
  • New elections could affect the Brexit negotiations.

Talks about forming a three-party coalition government in Germany dissolved after the free-market liberal Free Democratic Party pulled out on Sunday.
The FDP's leader, Christian Lindner, said there was no "basis of trust" with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union bloc and the left-leaning Greens, the BBC reported.
"Today there was no progress but rather there were setbacks because targeted compromises were questioned," Lindner said. "It is better not to rule than to rule falsely. Goodbye!" he added.
If the FDP refuses to join the coalition, Merkel may be forced to form a minority coalition or hold fresh elections just months after the latest elections.
Germany voted to form a new government in September, and Merkel was elected for a fourth term as chancellor.
Merkel's conservative bloc won 32.5% of the vote, according to Reuters, making it the largest parliamentary group.
The elections also brought a far-right party, the Alternative for Germany, into Germany's parliament for the first time since the 1960s. All other parties elected to the Bundestag refuse to work with the AfD, Reuters reported, because of its harsh stance on refugees and migrants.

New elections could affect Brexit talks

The second-largest party in parliament, the center-left Social Democrats, ruled out returning to a coalition government with Merkel's conservative bloc.
The prospect of renewed elections could affect Brexit. The SDP's leader, Martin Schulz, said Britain should be punished for leaving the European Union.
If new elections turn in Schulz's favor, Brexit negotiations may be even tougher. Earlier this year, as president of the European Parliament, Schulz accused the former UK Prime Minister David Cameron of "taking a whole continent hostage for a party internal struggle" and threatened "the hardest Brexit possible," according to The Telegraph.
Alexandra Ma contributed to this report.

NOW WATCH: 'You are the light': Watch controversial Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte serenade Trump with a love song