Germany: Angela Merkel reaches a deal to form coalition
Chancellor Angela Merkel finally reached a deal today to form a new German coalition government, handing the powerful finance ministry to the country’s main center-left party in an agreement aimed at ending months of political gridlock.
The center-left Social Democrats’ leaders now have one last major hurdle to overcome, winning their skeptical members’ approval of the deal.
Merkel’s conservative Christian Democratic Union, its Bavaria-only sister, the Christian Social Union, and the center-left Social Democrats agreed after a grueling final 24 hours of negotiations on a 177-page deal that leads off with the promise of “a new awakening for Europe.”
“I know that millions of citizens have been watching us closely on this long road over recent weeks,” Merkel said. “They had two justified demands of us: First, finally form a government, a stable government, and second, think … Of people’s real needs and interests.”
The coalition deal could be “the foundation of a good and stable government, which our country needs and many in the world expect of us,” she added.
Germany has already broken its post-World War II record for the longest time between its latest election on Sept. 24 to the swearing-in of a new government. That is still at least several weeks …read more