German business express concern about slow talks to form government

Berlin (dpa) - German employers have called on Chancellor Angela Merkellsquo;s conservatives and the Social Democrats (SPD) to speed up their efforts to build a new coalition government, underscoring business concerns about the nationlsquo;s political stalemate."Please do not have wretched long discussions, but a swift formation of government with good results, which means a growth-friendly agenda for Germany," Steffen Kampeter, who heads the German Federation of Employers (BDA), told the daily Passauer Neue Presse on Thursday.Kampeter was speaking one day after leaders from Merkellsquo;s Christian Democrats (CDU), their Christian Social Union (CSU) allies and the SDP agreed to hold an initial round of talks starting on January 7 to explore whether to hold formal coalition negotiations for a rerun of the current CDU/CSU-led government alliance. However, Kampeterlsquo;s comments added to signs of the growing unease among German business leaders about the length of time it is taking to build a new government following Septemberlsquo;s inconclusive election."We expect that a government will be formed as soon as possible," the president of the influential Federation of German Industry (BDI), Dieter Kemp, told dpa. "We cannot afford the deadlock to continue for a long time," said Kemp, adding that he hoped the holiday season would provide the nationlsquo;s political leaders with an "opportunity for reflection."