Germany: CDU, SPD present first results of coalition talks

The negotiators of the Union and the SPD have finished their work. Now the party leaders have to reach for a coalition to work.

After the working group phase, some in the Union fear that CDU head Merz will not be able to deliver the promised policy change. Many points of dispute with the SPD are open, especially on a crucial issue.

Germany: CDU, SPD present first results of coalition talks

The center-right and center-left parties have ended their first round of talks on time. Despite news of "good progress," sticking points on issues such as taxes and migration remain.

CDU leader Friedrich Merz, with the aim of forming a government until Easter, entered the coalition talks with the CSU and the SPD. But now both the Union parties and the social democrats are slowing down. Officially, it is said that thoroughness is ahead of speed. However, the media reports about increasing displeasure at the party base of the two negotiating partners and also dispute are accumulating. This apparently spurs the AfD, which has n…

BERLIN — For Friedrich Merz, the hardest part begins now. The conservative chancellor-to-be has begun coalition negotiations with the Social Democrats by giving them exactly what the center-left parties have always wanted: a historic deal to borrow hundreds of billions of euros for the military and infrastructure, as well as funding for green energy. For Merz, who has long advocated fiscal discipline, the loan agreement represents a historic pol…

The leader of the German Conservatives Friedrich Merz had promised quick negotiations and a government very quickly, after the victory of his camp in the elections of 23 February. Now in the critical phase of financial issues, the negotiations between the CDU and the socio-democrats of the SPD have been skating for a few days. The two historical rivals nevertheless want to present provisional results of their working groups, a perspective that s…