The SPD, Greens and FDP gave themselves a lot of time on Monday for their first exploratory talks in a three-way format.
Even after seven hours, the meeting lasted in the evening, in advance of a planned duration of around five hours had been mentioned.
SPD party and parliamentary group leader Raed Saleh left the group after six hours for unknown reasons and described the atmosphere of the conversation as "friendly and constructive".
Berlin - He did not comment on the content with reference to the agreed confidentiality.
Another exploratory meeting is planned for Tuesday, this time by the SPD, the Greens and the Left - the three parties have been ruling together since 2016.
dpa