Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Friday, March 29th, 2024

German Parties Reach Coalition Govt Deal after Long Talks

German Parties Reach  Coalition Govt Deal after Long Talks

BERLIN — Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives and Germany’s main center-left party reached a deal Wednesday to form a new coalition government after a final session of talks that dragged on for 24 hours.
The two sides still face a major hurdle — getting approval from the center-left Social Democrats’ members — before the new administration can take office.
“We have a coalition agreement that means positive things for many, many citizens,” Merkel’s chief of staff, Peter Altmaier, said as he left the talks. “And now we all want a shower, because we have negotiated long and hard over the last few hours.”
The deal between Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union, its Bavaria-only sister party, the Christian Social Union, and the Social Democrats 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.
The accord will be put to a ballot of the Social Democrats’ more than 460,000 members, a process that will take a few weeks. (AP)