At first glance, it is but a trifle, a bit of marginalia in the ludicrous conflict that almost brought down the German government. On Monday, after the battle had finally come to an end following several tortuous weeks, after a compromise had finally been found between Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), it was time for the chancellor and CSU head Horst Seehofer to jointly address the press.

Outside of CDU headquarters in Berlin, reporters were waiting in the gentle evening light for the conclusion of the crisis summit, but the leaders of the two "sister parties" couldn't even agree on the wording of a joint statement.

"As a result of this agreement, I am going to tell the press that I will remain interior minister," Seehofer said. He discussed with Merkel his view that the general secretaries from the CDU and CSU should be the ones to inform the gathered reporters about the details of their peace deal. And then he headed down to the foyer. Without Merkel. Without the woman with whom he needs at least a modicum of trust if their governing partnership is to work.

Perhaps it made sense. It may even have been the only bit of honesty seen in Berlin during these crazy days of dispute. How, after all, should the two find their way back to each other after the depth of their feud? Seehofer is obsessed with Angela Merkel, and he won't back down until she is no longer there. Indeed, it might have been better were both of them to step down and clear the way for a new political era. The current partnership between the CSU and CDU, in any case, isn't likely to work for as long as Merkel and Seehofer have to find agreement on all the important issues. It isn't likely to work for as long as the two are chained together like an unhappy married couple.

Merkel has retained the ability to keep her cool, concealing her fury behind her political authority - such as when, in her first speech in parliament following her most recent reelection, she indirectly admonished Seehofer for his assertion that Islam does not belong to Germany. Seehofer sat there on the cabinet benches looking like a sheepish schoolboy.

He's still furious about it. In his ministry office just a couple of days ago, he angrily said: "And then I was reprimanded by her in the Bundestag." He has a direct view of the Chancellery from the windows of his office - he sees it when he arrives in the morning and he sees it before he heads home in the evening. That could very well be part of the problem.

Seehofer is like an onion: You have to have a bit of patience, but once you peel your way to the center, you'll find Merkel, the woman who has inflicted so many injuries on him and who he has never been able to defeat. Sooner or later, it's always Merkel with him. And he can't help it, it's a mixture of admiration and fear. He is intimately familiar with her instinct for power, which so many before him have underestimated and who thus lie "in the cemetery behind the Chancellery," as Seehofer says. He doesn't want to end up there himself.

The rivalry between the two sister parties has long been one of the standing rituals in German politics. One of the most impressive examples is the speech held by then-CSU leader Franz Josef Strauss in November 1976, when he heaped scorn on the leader of the CDU at the time, a man named Helmut Kohl. "He is completely incapable, he lacks the necessary character, intellectual and political qualifications to be chancellor. He lacks everything."

Yet despite frequently being at loggerheads, Kohl and Strauss ultimately pursued the same brand of conservatism. Merkel and Seehofer, by contrast, aren't just divided by a long history of indignities inflicted on each other - a history which has made it almost impossible for the pair to hold open, face-to-face discussions - but they also pursue two completely different political strategies. That is what has made the situation so difficult.

The CSU sees Merkel's refugee policies as the apex of an aberration which has led conservative voters to turn away from the CDU/CSU, thus contributing to the growth of the right-wing populist party Alternative for Germany (AfD). The CSU would like to reverse this mistake, which is what has made the conflict with Merkel so bitter. It is really no longer about refugee policy as such, rather it is about declaring Merkel's decision in 2015 to not close the border to the refugees coming in via the Balkan Route as a fundamental mistake. Given that background, it is obvious why it has been so difficult to find common ground. Indeed, if you take a closer look at the recent days of chaos in Berlin, it becomes clear that doing so is a virtual impossibility.

Saturday, June 30 
Chancellery

Seehofer climbs into his sedan for the five-hour drive from Bavaria to Berlin. The interior minister is to meet face-to-face with Merkel for a final attempt at solving the asylum conflict that has been raging for weeks and which is threatening to destroy the CDU-CSU partnership. Both know just how much is at stake. Both have called meetings on Sunday of the leadership committees of their respective parties. If the two are unable to find a solution today, a dangerous escalation will become unavoidable.

Merkel informs Seehofer of the results of the European Union summit from which she returned on Friday. At the Brussels summit, EU leaders reached an agreement on measures that had previously seemed impossible: controlled centers, for example, where refugees are to wait for their asylum applications to be approved or denied. And "disembarkation platforms," from which migrants who made their way across the Mediterranean can be shipped back to North Africa.