CDU/CSU bloc and SPD plan to govern together

Berlin (dpa) - For the fifth time in its history, Germany will have a government formed of the CDU/CSU bloc and the SPD. Nearly seven weeks after the early Bundestag elections, the three parties agreed on a coalition treaty. Entitled “Responsibility for Germany”, the 144-page document also lays out which party will be in charge of which ministry. For the first time, there will be a ministry of digitisation and state modernisation. All the agreements are subject to the treaty being approved by the three parties. To this end, the SPD plans to have its members vote on the document. According to Merz, the government could be formed in the first week of May - there has been talk of a chancellor being appointed on 7 May.  

“Germany will be getting a strong government that is capable of action,” said the CDU’s Friedrich Merz, who is likely to become the new chancellor. He also described the coalition treaty as a signal of new beginnings and as a powerful sign for Germany. “The future government, the future coalition will reform and invest to keep Germany stable, make it more secure and make it economically stronger again.”