Merkel: Govt. has responsibility to help Opel

BERLIN, March 13 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Friday the government had a political responsibility to try to help struggling General Motors (GM.N) unit Opel.

"If we think about Opel, the conditions on the links with General Motors and others are so complicated that we have a political responsibility to be helpful on a possible separation, for example, of General Motors and Opel or partial independence," Merkel told a news conference in Munich.

However, Merkel also said the state would only support companies which had positive prospects for the future.