Observers expect therefore that it may take many months to negotiate a new government, perhaps even until January or February 2018, leaving the country in turbulence and standstill. And even if Merkel manages to bring together an agreement, the Jamaica option with two strong and opinionated partners is much harder to govern for her. It will weaken her position both in Germany and abroad, and it is for sure not the coalition that Merkel had hoped for in her last term as chancellor.

Besides, most Germans do not want a Jamaica government. In a first poll by opinion poll institute “Infratest dimap” tonight, only 23 percent of voters said they would approve of such a coalition.