Merkel's conservatives and Social Democrats 'clinch coalition deal'

Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives and Germany's main center-left party reached an agreement to form a new coalition government on Wednesday after a final session of negotiations that dragged on for 24 hours, German news agency dpa reported.

Citing unidentified party officials, dpa reported that Merkel's Christian Democratic Union, its Bavaria-only sister party, the Christian Social Union, and the center-left Social Democrats overcame the last hurdles to a deal after previously achieving a breakthrough on the division of ministries.

According to dpa, the Social Democrats were set to get the foreign, labor and finance ministries – the latter a major prize, held by Merkel's CDU for the past eight years.

Even once a deal emerges, it won't bring an immediate end to the political limbo following Germany's Sept. 24 election – the country has already broken its post-World War II record for the longest time from an election to the swearing-in of a new government.

A deal will be put to a ballot of the Social Democrats' more than 460,000 members, a process that will take a few weeks. Many members are skeptical after the party's disastrous election result, which followed four years of a "grand coalition" with the party serving as junior partner to Merkel's conservatives.

Failure to reach an agreement, or a rejection by Social Democrat members, would leave a minority government under Merkel or a new election as the only viable options.

Merkel's attempt to put together a government with two smaller parties collapsed in November. Social Democrat leader Martin Schulz, who had previously ruled out renewing the coalition of Germany's biggest parties, then reversed course.

(AP)

Date created : 2018-02-07