New government in Germany: Coalition agreed, Merz to replace Scholz soon
Photo: Friedrich Merz and the coalition in the German government (Getty Images)
In Germany, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Christian Social Union (CSU), along with the Social Democratic Party (SPD), have announced the conclusion of a coalition agreement, Tagesschau reports.
According to the 144-page agreement, the parties have agreed to establish an expert commission to modernize the debt brake, reduce taxes by 1% per year over the next five years, starting from 2028.
The parties also agreed to abolish the possibility of acquiring German citizenship after three years, introduce voluntary military service, and cut budgetary expenditures, including voluntary funding for international organizations.
The agreement also addresses the issue of illegal immigration. Specifically, family reunification will be suspended for two years, voluntary refugee acceptance programs will be halted, and the list of safe countries for deportation will be expanded. Additionally, border control in Germany will be strengthened.
The new governing coalition in the Bundestag will have 328 seats out of 630.
It is expected that the head of the CDU, Friedrich Merz, will be elected as Chancellor of Germany on May 7. He will replace Olaf Scholz in the position.
According to Merz, coalition negotiations were conducted under significant pressure due to the global political situation.
"From within and outside, many forces were working against us, not for us," Merz said.
He specifically mentioned the war in Ukraine, which Russian President Vladimir Putin refuses to end, and the aggressive tariff package of US President Donald Trump.
However, he believes that the coalition agreement is a signal of a new beginning.
German government
In late February this year, early elections to the Bundestag were held in Germany.
According to exit polls, the CDU/CSU bloc secured first place, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) came second, and the Social Democratic Party (SPD) came third. Notably, this is the worst result for the SPD in federal elections to date.
For more details, see the material by RBC-Ukraine.
We also reported that the leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Friedrich Merz, planned to form a government by Easter, April 20. Now, there is talk in the Bundestag of May 6 as the date for his election as Chancellor.
Yesterday, it was revealed that the German CDU/CSU and SPD had reached an agreement on forming a coalition.
