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Merkel expects parliament to clear up open scandal questions


    BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday she is confident that parliament will clear up open questions in the case of Social Democrat (SPD) lawmaker Sebastian Edathy, who is at the core of a scandal that led to the fall of a conservative minister.

    "There are open questions and I assume that the corresponding things will cleared up in parliament ... that all the open questions will be cleared up so that we can restore confidence," Merkel said.

    "Also at stake is confidence in the coalition," she added, noting that she and the leaders of the two other ruling parties, Christian Social Union (CSU) leader Horst Seehofer and SPD chairman Sigmar Gabriel, would meet later on Tuesday.

    Agriculture Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich's resigned under pressure on Friday, aggravating tensions in the coalition. Friedrich is alleged to have inappropriately passed on confidential information about a looming probe into Edathy.

    (Reporting by Noah Barkin, Stephen Brown and Erik Kirschbaum)