Friedrich Merz’s German conservative CDU/CSU and the centre-left SPD parties announced on Saturday they have reached a preliminary agreement to form a government that will make significant investments to revitalise and rearm Europe’s largest economy.
“We have prepared a joint document and reached an agreement on a range of issues,” the future conservative chancellor told the press, adding that the partners will begin detailed negotiations next week to form a coalition government.
Merz previously indicated that he aims to have his coalition formed by Easter, 20 April.
The conservative CDU/CSU bloc won the snap legislative election on 23 February with 28.6% of the vote, less than the polls had predicted. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) secured a record-breaking 20.8%, coming in second. However, Merz swiftly ruled out any alliance with the AfD. With limited options, he turned to the Social Democratic Party (SPD), despite its historically poor performance of around 16%.
