Merkel Government Approves Voter 'gifts' Ahead of 2013 Pollc

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's fractious coalition struck a hard-fought deal Monday on disputed government benefits, trying to present a united front with less than a year until elections.

After more than seven hours of negotiations between Merkel's conservatives and the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) stretching into the early morning hours, the parties agreed to axe an unpopular doctor's office fee from January.

In exchange for winning that concession, the FDP agreed to back a benefit from August for parents who care for their children at home.

The online service of news weekly Der Spiegel called it a "Summit of Gifts" ahead of the general election next September or October, intended to shore up support for the governing parties whose majority is under threat.

"There were presents for everyone so close to the election year -- not only for the voters but also for the individual coalition partners," it wrote.

While Merkel's Christian Democrats are leading in the polls, their Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), faces a tough re-election battle in a state vote next year.

And the FDP, whose priority in its election platforms has long been tax cuts, has seen this aim thwarted by Merkel's austerity drive and call for a balanced budget by 2014.

In a poll released Sunday, the FDP again tallied beneath the five percent required to take seats in parliament.

Analysts say the most likely electoral outcome is a repeat of the "grand coalition" between the conservatives and the Social Democrats with Merkel at the helm, last seen 2005-2009.

The benefit for stay-at-home parents, the brainchild of traditionalists in the CSU, has been criticized for discouraging women in particular to work outside the home, and compromising the integration of immigrant children who might benefit from day care.

The main opposition party, the Social Democrats, searching for issues of its own to wield against the mighty Merkel, has pledged a court challenge against the benefit derisively dubbed a "Herdpraemie", or literally "stove bonus".

The other main point agreed at the coalition meeting, which was marred in the run-up by bitter infighting, was to eliminate a little-loved 10-euro ($13) quarterly fee for doctors visits.

Introduced in 2004, it proved ineffective in eliminating unnecessary trips to specialists and increased overhead for clinics and surgeries.

The parties also agreed to a small increase in pensions for low-income households, pledging to work out the details at a subsequent meeting.