Germany’s conservative and center-left parties have reached an agreement today to form a new government after several weeks of negotiations.
The new coalition brings together the traditional major parties — the Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) and the weakened Social Democratic Party (SPD) of outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Together, they hold 328 seats in the Bundestag, which has a total of 630 members.
Friedrich Merz, leader of the CDU, is expected to become Germany’s next chancellor.
Merz’s two-party coalition secured the most votes in the parliamentary elections held on February 23. The snap election took place seven months earlier than planned after Scholz’s coalition collapsed in November, ending his three-year tenure.
Details of the coalition agreement have not yet been made public.
Last month, the outgoing government partners managed to push through a military budget increase and established a “Grand Infrastructure Fund” aimed at reviving Germany’s stagnating economy.
