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BERLIN, Nov. 21-- Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier appealed to German parties on Tuesday to assume their responsibility towards voters and avert a re-run of federal elections. CDU politician and German chief of staff of the Chancellery Peter Altmaier rejected calls to either form a minority government or hold re-elections after the collapse of "Jamaica" coalition negotiations after no single party has won overall majority in the Sept. 24 elections. "We cannot just go away and hide ourselves in the bushes following an election," Altmaier told public broadcaster ZDF. His comments were widely interpreted by media as a stab at the Free Democratic Party (FDP) which triggered the collapse of official talks between them late on Sunday night. As a consequence, Germany now finds itself in the midst of a political crisis as it lacks a legislative majority to form the country's next government. Re-elections could cost up to 92 million euros (108 U.S. dollars) based on the cost of the last national poll in September, according to Spiegel newspaper's estimates. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier similarly opposed immediate re-elections and instead urged parties to assume their responsibility to form a government. Steinmeier reminded the political factions represented in the new Federal Parliament, including his own German Social Democratic Party (SPD), that they were obliged to advance the common good. | 
