Please forgive my ignorance : if the SPD/Greens don't get an absolute majority, is there any reason they can't form a minority administration? The odds of the Linke joining the CDU to vote them down would seem remote...

Are there constitutional obstacles to this, or what? A "grand coalition" would surely be suicidal for the SPD.

_{It is rightly acknowledged that people of faith have no monopoly of virtue - Queen Elizabeth II}