Merkel admits no-go areas exist

[KingsGambit]

To be fair, passing through an area, especially in the safety of a vehicle, is a lot different than spending time in the area itself.

That's true, but I do mean in this case that I've actually spent time in the area.

[Terraceth]

In related news, I see that the SPD has approved the coalition agreement, and Merkel's forming another Grand Coalition government.

From my admittedly secondhand information of Germany, while this will put them back in power, this is likely to hurt both in the long run. The election reduced the SPD and CSU/CDU to what were basically record lows. So, after the voters made it abundantly clear that they were not interested in another Grand Coalition between the two parties... they get another Grand Coalition.

Unless things change, I think it's likely that we'll be seeing both parties take another hit in the next election. Or, at least, this is the impression I get from following the events and talking to a few Germans.