German Chancellor-designate and Social Democrat Olaf Scholz said on Wednesday he had reached a deal with the Free Democrats and Greens to form a new coalition government that will bring the curtain down on the Angela Merkel era.
According to 177-page agreement struck after two months of talks, the three parties want to accelerate public investment in green technology and digitalisation while returning to strict debt limits from 2023 onwards.
The deal will install Germany’s first federal coalition between the Social Democrats (SPD), libertarian Free Democrats (FDP) and the ecologist Greens, and end 16 years of Merkel-led conservative government, marking a new era for relations with Europe and the rest of the world.
Scholz on Wednesday hailed his Social Democrats’ new so-called “traffic light” coalition that he said will modernise the country.
{{/usCountry}}Scholz on Wednesday hailed his Social Democrats’ new so-called “traffic light” coalition that he said will modernise the country.
{{/usCountry}}At a news conference, Scholz and other leaders gave some indications of how the coalition would govern.
Among the first measures agreed: compulsory vaccinations in places where particularly vulnerable people are cared for, with the option of expanding that rule. That comes as Germany is seeing a surge in cases, and the political transition has somewhat hampered the country’s response.